Balamb High Forever
by Toysaurus
Summary: AU of Balamh High School - Seifer is quarterback of football team, Rinoa is head cheerleader, Squall is school Goth, but all may not be as it seems. Rated R for language and sexual content
1. Default Chapter

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

_Yes there are two paths you can go by,  
But in the long run  
There's still time to change the road you're on._  
Led Zeppelin

It was a typical early Monday morning at Balamb High School in Balamb, New Jersey. Balamb, New Jersey was located in rural Gloucester County way out with the industrial parks and unknown dead bodies buried by the Mafia.

Seifer Almasy, the tall blond handsome star quarterback of the football team and school ne'er-do-well strode down the hallway as he always did, followed by his hang buddy, and fellow football teammate, Raijin. Raijin was a huge black teenager who played center on the football team. Some people were unkind enough to refer to him as Seifer's 'toady' but in actuality it just wasn't true. Raijin was nobody's lackey and anyway Seifer didn't need or want one. His ego strength demanded an equal in his schemes; not someone who he would need to explain everything to.

As he walked down the corridor, Seifer looked for suitable victims, preferably freshmen. For some unknown reason the tall blond young man hated freshmen with a passion. Whenever he would observe one standing by their lockers preoccupied with whatever personal business they might have there, Seifer would grab them by their waistband and the seat of their pants, pull their pants down to their ankles and ram them face first into the door of their lockers. And as if that wasn't bad enough, sometimes the freshman boy had been embracing the current male fashion of not wearing any underwear beneath his outer apparel and they would end up being doubly embarrassed and a public spectacle.

With freshmen girls he would subtly stick out his foot at an inopportune time and as they scurried by, Seifer would trip them. They would go careening down the hall, bumping into various students and bouncing off lockers until they would finally end up face first on the floor. If the poor girls were extremely unfortunate their skirts would have flown up to their waists and their underwear would be on full display to everyone in the hallways.

When that happened Seifer would throw his head back and laugh his big hearty obnoxious guffaw - "Haha!" And Raijin would join in and then most other people in the hallway would laugh too because they were too frightened of Seifer not to. Only a few hardy souls wouldn't laugh at all, but nobody would protest or cross him. King Seifer ruled Balamb Senior High.

_____

Rinoa Heartilly, the beautiful dark-haired senior and head cheerleader, was preparing for another busy day of basically doing nothing. This was because unbeknownst to anyone except for the young woman herself, Rinoa had already completed all the credits she needed for graduation by the end of her junior year. Her guidance counselor hadn't been 'with it' enough to realize the fact and the dark-haired young woman was careful to not point it out.

Actually part of the reason Rinoa had chosen to do so was good; she wasn't yet mature enough to attend college and, not only would it help her to experience another year of high school, it also would have been a shame if Rinoa were cheated out of the 'fun' of her senior year.

Although the real reason wasn't nearly as grounded in motive as Rinoa had refused to move on because she was hopelessly, foolishly, beyond all rationale, in love with Seifer Almasy, who not only didn't love her in return, but found her obsessive stalking as laughable and treated the poor girl as if her love towards him and she, herself, were a joke.

All of her good friends were in agreement that the entire fiasco was surely a shame although they hadn't been able to affect anything that would help her. Rinoa had been driven by her love or rather her affliction to behave very inopportunely one afternoon. It was in the late summer's heat as the football ball team was devotedly preparing for it's season opener. The cheerleading squad was also practicing by the sideline of the same field.

Rinoa had foregone the utilization of her usual undergarment beneath her short cheerleader's skirt in the hopes of enticing Seifer. When the young quarterback had finally espied the true intent of her faux pas, he threw his head back in his loud traditional guffaw and, after laughing, alerted everyone in the general vicinity of what he had just observed. Quite naturally everyone, including the coaches, turned and discovered that Rinoa's hair color did not come out of a bottle.

Rinoa has been so chagrined and embarrassed that she ran weeping from the field followed by the haunting laughter of most of those present, including some of her so-called friends on the cheerleading squad. On the first day of school, she was still attempting to live _ that _ down.

Rinoa's father was a General stationed at Ft. Myers in Arlington, Virginia and was rumored to be quite influential with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Caraway only made it home to New Jersey on weekends. It hardly mattered because his daughter was so estranged from him she had adopted her mother's maiden name. Her mother, by the way, had died in a cruel traffic accident when Rinoa was a mere five year old little girl and the dark-haired child was raised mainly by a housekeeper who still resided with them. Although she lived in a mansion, Rinoa, beneath it all, was still just a hurt, sad, lonely, little girl.

_____

Squall Leonhart was slouching his way down the corridor toward his homeroom. He was dressed all in black as usual. The young man was probably quite handsome under the mop of hair and the scar that ran across his face that he received from somewhere at sometime. No one really knew anything about it or him for that matter, fore Squall seldom spoke and never said anything concerning himself. It goes without saying that he was leader of the Goth faction of Balamb High and the natural enemy of Seifer Almasy.

The strange thing about it to most of the populace of the school was Seifer never challenged the number one Goth. Actually while not being outright afraid which was not part of the young quarterback's nature, he felt very uneasy around Squall and chose instead to usually ignore him. Squall, in turn, never acknowledged Seifer's presence in any manner.

As the morose young man turned the corner to head down the hallway in the direction of his homeroom, Selphie Tilmitt ran directly into him and fell ungainly onto the floor. Her short skirt flew up to her waist and she appeared oblivious to that fact as she smiled up at him with her tongue slightly protruding through her lips and holding her left hand palm up behind her head.

One might think she had orchestrated the entire scenario just to gain some attention from Squall, but he himself realized this was not the case. Selphie was known as the class half wit. Her favorite response to any question asked her in class by a teacher was "Huh?" None of this though stopped her from being a proud member of the school marching band and head of the Senior Prom Committee.

"Sorry, Squall, were you hurt?" Selphie asked while lumbering to her feet.

He shook his head.

"I was looking for Quistis. Have you seen her?"

"Yeah," the Goth laconically answered. And he pushed by her on his continued travels.

"Well, where is she?" the energetic twit asked sounding a bit put out.

"I don't have time for this," Squall snarled.

"Hey, up yours buddy!" the green-eyed, brown-haired young woman screamed at his retreating back.

Squall gave no indication that he had heard her shouted invective. If there was one thing in this world for certain, it was that Squall was used to ignoring hurled insults. He always acted as if he heard nothing and in actuality he consciously didn't; he had learned how to hide them deep inside of himself. Although they were still there buried deep inside of himself, rest assured.

Selphie was searching for her friend, Quistis Trepe. The young woman with the strange, almost exotic, name was a beautiful strawberry-blonde, although unfortunately she did all she could to disguise her good looks by wearing her hair up in a bun on top of her head and committed the horrible atrocity of keeping pencils in it. She also wore rather shapeless conservative clothing and squared framed glasses.

Quistis received nothing in her classes except for straight A's and was known as the class drudge. She knew this and didn't mind at all; at least that's what she told herself. The blonde young woman had big plans for herself and none of them included remaining in Balamb, New Jersey.

Despite her lack of affluence, Quistis' goal was attending Garden University next fall. The only way she could accomplish this, she realized, was to be a Merit Scholar. Even though this seemed like such a long shot, Quistis had never doubted her dream. This had caused the bright ambitious young woman to achieve straight A's since her freshman year. No wonder she was known as the class grind.

Quistis was planning on having the last laugh on her classmates at Balamb High. When the rest of them were all holding down their blue collar jobs and living in a trailer with a passel of kids and a poor wife who was old and weary way before her time, she was going to be living in a high rise in New York City involved in some sort of glamorous work. Quistis didn't know where or how but if determination counted for anything she was more than halfway there.

She currently was sitting at her desk in her home room. Quistis was early as usual and she utilized her extra time by studying ahead in her textbooks. The teacher, Ms. Xu, looked kindly upon the young woman. Quistis was by far her best student and the teacher understood very well Quistis' intention to flee this deadend town. No one knew if Xu was her first name or last name except for Superintendent of Schools Laguna Loire who she had been going out with for over two years and he wasn't telling.

Ms. Xu knew all about attempting to leave Balamb. She had even accomplished her escape to Garden University and had graduated finally with her Master's Degree and had successfully settled in the town of Garden as she worked towards her doctorate. But her father had grown sick and finally died and she had to return home to take care of her elderly mother.

_ Ironic isn't? _ she thought. _ A person just can't seem to run far enough away from Balamb. _

_____

Irvine Kinneas wasn't at school yet. In fact, he hadn't even left his place of residence. The long haired almost beautiful appearing youth was in his bedroom surrounded by all of his firearms. This was the only time that he felt happy; when he could spread them all around him and gaze at them.

There was a substantial amount of firepower present; everything from Glocks to AK47's. He had semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, high powered rifles, and shotguns among other things. When he wasn't out in the countryside firing them, then usually Irvine was cleaning them. He was meticulous about his care of his weapons. He was a firm believer that if you treated your firearm as a friend, then it would be there to help you when you needed it. Irvine cleaned them daily whether he had used them or not on the previous day. Irvine didn't know when or how, but he knew for certain that some day he would become fed up with all the insults heaped upon his life and on that day he would chose to fight back once and for all.

Glancing at his watch, Irvine noticed he needed to take his leave; he was already late for school. With a large sigh, he stashed all his firearms back into his duffel bag and hid it deep in his closet. Irvine hated school with a passion but since he had somehow made it through to his senior year, he had decided to stick it out and receive his diploma. Besides without it, Irvine was intelligent enough to realize he would be condemning himself to a lifetime of minimum wage jobs, if that.

His career goals were not extremely realistic, although they had the distinct advantage of being exotic. Irvine planned to become a mercenary when he was old enough. Up until then, he practiced with his weapons whenever time and money would allow. For all those who don't realize it, ammunition is expensive.

Irvine received  Soldier of Fame  magazine monthly in the mail and thought he knew all there was to know about being a mercenary. His parents thought it was an Eagle Scout magazine and while his father thought Irvine was a little too old to be receiving such, it made him feel good that his son was still rather unworldly. More the fools, his parents were. Irvine suffered them ungladly.

He of course didn't realize it, but he was already on a FBI list for citizens to watch closely due to his receiving the aforementioned  Soldier of Fame  magazine; plus Irvine visited gun sites on the internet hundreds of times every week. That alone alerted the government to him as someone to watch closely.

His main problem in life right now was attempting to figure out a way to beat the metal detectors surrounding all the doors leading into his high school. This of course was so he could begin stockpiling some weapons somewhere on school grounds just in case some day he might have need of them. It was a problem he was going to have to think on.

______

Zell Dincht aggressively strode down the hall on his way to homeroom glaring at each and every person he spied on his journey. He was hoping against hope that someone would glance at him the wrong way, smirk at him, say something insulting, etc. Zell would use all of the aforementioned behaviors plus some other ones more esoteric, such as displaying aggressive body posturing as a good enough reason to apply a good old fashioned ass whipping to the person.

For in short, Zell was the school bully. With the strange tattoo he wore on the side of his head and the pack of cigarettes he kept rolled up in the short sleeve of his shirt, Zell was a perfect example of a young hoodlum and in fact ruled the Balamb Senior High street gang with a fist of iron. His gang had successfully defended their turf against the advances of the gangs from the nearby towns of Winhill, Deling City, East Academy, Dollet, F.H., Trabia, and Shumi Village.

Zell still ruefully remembered the night they had almost lost to those dweebs from Shumi Village. It was just that the Shumi's fists were so much larger and they really packed a wallop, but finally they were worn down because they were just way too slow in their attack.

Zell was one of the few students in the school who still had his original parents and came from a basically stable family environment, except for one thing - he rarely saw his father. The middle age man was seldom home because he was one of the personality A types with his nose constantly to the grind stone. He worked six days a week, late every night and usually went in some on Sunday.

This didn't stop Zell from being close with his mother, who was a great card aficionado. It was this closeness that was the young man's saving grace because it certainly so far had kept him from drifting completely into criminal behavior. He was at least serious about remaining in school and acquiring his diploma, if only for the sake of his mother.

As the tattooed young man entered his homeroom and took his seat behind Quistis, she did not even look up even though she certainly realized Zell was there. They had no communication at all on any level…ever. Ms. Xu watched Zell when he leaned back in his desk basically doing nothing and realized that there always was an aura of loneliness around him; as though he were searching for some people who either didn't yet exist or he knew not who they were or where they are.

_____

A young woman just entering through one of the doors at the front of the school cut quite an exotic figure. She wore her silver hair cut short and a black pirate eye patch over her right eye. No one knew what was wrong with her eye nor could they tell if her hair was a result of dyeing. That was because Fujin seldom spoke to anyone and when asked a direct question which she could absolutely not shrug off she would only answer in one word sentences.

From what anyone could tell, she had no close friends or a boyfriend. There were some rumors about her, but nothing had ever been proven. No one even knew where she lived and yet Fujin always appeared self assured and in fact always presented herself as someone who it would be dangerous to trifle with and most people steered a wide berth of her. Fujin appeared to be so unpredictable that even the great Seifer Almasy chose to have no truck with her and avoided confrontations with her like the plague.

The classroom filled up with students just as the second bell rang connoting that the daily grind of high school had once again begun. 


	2. Chapter Two

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

The Highwayman  Copyright Jim Webb

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Two

_I was a highwayman  
Along the coach roads I did ride  
With sword and pistol by my side._

And many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade  
And many a soldier left his life blood on my blade.  
They finally hung me in the spring of '25  
But I am still alive  
The Highwayman

Principal Cid Kramer sat eating lunch in the employee's small dining room. Actually calling it a dining room was a misnomer. It was a dining room only in the strictest definition; a place where people dined.

There were some very small tables, possibly room for two if the diners were willing to crowd. Most of the teachers preferred to eat alone in order to look over their lesson plans for their afternoon classes. Plus a lot of the teachers felt as if their teaching careers at Balamb High closely resembled life during wartime and they made a conscious choice not to get _ too _ close to their co-workers; because no one knew who might not be there the next day.

Orders for lunch were taken such as they were. There were only so many choices available in a daily school lunch. Many employees brought their lunch for this reason. There was a microwave oven in the room, but it was believed to be emitting dangerous rays by most teachers so it was rarely used. The lunches were rolled in on noisy metal carts with wheels.

It was all arranged as a way to keep from making the teachers eat lunch in the cafeteria with the students. In an ideal world, the teachers would have wanted to eat a meal with their students in order to learn how they interacted with others outside of the classroom. Balamb High was far was an ideal world.

In fact, the teachers who were the students' lunch room monitors had all they could to do to keep it from turning into a full scale riot and sometimes they failed. Monitoring lunch time had caused more teachers to resign than any other reason, including have their cars fire bombed.

Sitting across from the principal was the new school counselor, Edea Arcane. She was a very attractive woman with long dark hair and a beautiful figure with the promise of a substantial bosom beneath her tasteful outfits. Being in her mid-thirties, the principal realized from doing more than just scanning her personnel record that Edea was still a miss. He just couldn't understand how such a beauty had remained unplucked, so to speak.

As if reading his mind, but the opposite of it, Edea asked, "So how is it you're still unmarried? You're not gay are you?"

Cid coughed and almost took in a bit of his lunch down his windpipe by mistake. Blushing, he answered, "No, why do you ask?"

"Oh, did I upset you, I'm sorry," Edea smiled at him.

Cid melted on the spot. "Have we ever met before?" he asked seriously.

"Oh, come now, isn't that the oldest line in the book?" Edea smiled at him.

"No, I'm serious, I feel as though we knew each other before now," Cid explained.

"You mean like a past life or something?" Edea asked.

"Maybe, I just feel as though I already know you and yet we just met."

"You know," she smiled, "I had no idea you were so smooth. One wouldn't know it to look at you."

"I'm not," Cid replied seriously.

"I know," Edea replied just as seriously.

After that exchange in which they both had embarrassed themselves, they lowered their heads and ate a few bites of their lunch.

"What is this, by the way?" the woman asked. "It appears to resemble dried snot."

Cid choked on his food.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb you again?"

You have quite a quirky sense of humor, don't you?" asked Cid.

"Some people say the quirkiest, but then this town isn't exactly a garden spot, is it?"

"What did you say - garden? What do you mean?" demanded Cid.

"I just meant the city of Balamb isn't exactly a garden spot. Why? What's wrong? You just turned white. Are you okay?" Edea asked concerned.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. It just hit something in me, I don't know what," admitted the principal.

"Well, you know that Jersey is the Garden state, haha."

"Yes, I know," Cid sighed. "But exactly what kind of garden it is I've never been able to figure out - I think it's a garden of roads."

"Not to change the subject, but is the first week always this hectic?" the new counselor queried.

"Actually risking sounding like an old guard this week has been pretty mellow compared to other years. We haven't had any shootings or knifings so far this year," Cid replied sardonically.

"You're kidding, I hope," Edea responded.

"Not by much, what did you do before you came here?"

"Oh, come on, you must know. I bet you were pouring all through my personnel file this morning," Edea teased.

When she observed Cid blush deeply, Edea realized she hit paydirt. _ Bingo! _ she thought. _ One for our side. _

"Ok, I'll play fair," the black haired woman said while smiling. "I ran an orphanage, a very small one."

_ She looks beautiful when she smiles. _

Cid continued to stare at her. "Okay, what are you thinking?" she asked.

He blushed again. "Uh, I'm sorry, I just couldn't tell you that."

"Kinky, wasn't it? You were thinking something kinky about me and now you're ashamed to admit it," Edea teased.

"Well, if you're going to accuse me of misconduct, I'll have to tell you. I was thinking about how beautiful you look when you smile."

A minute passed by and the principal grew even more embarrassed He noticed a tear ran down the new counselor's face. _ Oh, what have I done? I always think I'm so damn smart. _

Finally Edea spoke. "It's been quite awhile since anyone told me I was beautiful, thank you."

Cid was all set to make a light hearted statement when he observed a look of deep sadness in her eyes and he thought better of it.

………………..

The Balamb High Football team won its' first game of the season forty-nine to zero over little Winhill High School. Seifer was the hands down hero of the game, throwing for over three hundred yards and running for almost another two hundred more. And he wanted to play on the defense too. The coach had to admit Seifer could have been an all state linebacker if he had been allowed to play that position also, but the coach also knew if Seifer had gotten injured playing defense the town of Balamb would have ridden him out of town on a rail.

Which made Cid's job as principal even harder when it came to such things as disciplining Seifer, as he was explaining to Edea in his office on Tuesday morning.

"I take it this is a little more official than our lunch was?" Edea asked with a slight twinkle in her eyes.

Cid blushed remembering just that he had made a fool of himself in front of a new subordinate and could probably be charged with sexual harassment.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the pretty woman spoke sincerely. "I've caused you to blush again."

Cid offered a slight grin. "Not your fault, goes with the job. The reason I asked you to come in was I need your opinion on something."

"Oh, okay," Edea responded sitting up straighter in her chair and appearing more focused.

Cid went on to explain. "The gist of it is that Seifer has continued with his half denuding various freshmen boys. Now the people who are really complaining about this are the young female teachers. I have spoken with the youngest female students we have. They informed me they thought it was funny. And on top of all that, I talked to the freshmen boys and offered them complete anonymity and they said it didn't bother them. So my question to you is what do you make of all that?"

Edea sat and pondered for a moment and then spoke. "I think the freshmen women who haven't yet experienced sex find that being able to sneak a peek at what lays beneath boys outer apparel in this manner is naturally intriguing and helps to satisfy their curiosity without being threatening in any fashion."

"I think the freshmen boys don't mind because of the notoriety it carries with it. From what you have told me before of this boy, Seifer, he's a minor god around here and to be picked out for attention by him makes the person special in the eyes of his peers, even if it's only negative attention."

"But what of it being only young female teachers who are complaining to me about it?" Cid inquired again.

"You might find this distasteful, Cid, but you have to remember that it's subconscious and probably the teachers don't have a inkling of it. They find the entire thing to be sexually attractive and it's bothering their sense of morality. No, they're not attracted to the freshmen boys, they're attracted to Seifer. To them on a primal level, he represents the hunter, the leader of the pack, and when they instinctively realize that, they submerge it quickly again as being too distasteful to deal with."

Cid sat back silent for a moment drinking in that particular piece of information, probably more than he had ever wanted to know about his young women staff. "Well, that's very interesting," he replied, "and very insightful. From what you said I think I'm just going to let things ride for awhile."

_ At least until football season is over, _ he thought cynically.

Arising to his feet, Cid invited, "What say we have lunch off campus today?"

Standing up also, Edea smiled and replied, "Why Principal Kramer, is this a date?"

"Play your cards right and it could be." Cid smiled in return.

"Should we be doing this?"

"What, eating off campus? Sure, we don't have to eat here," Cid answered being deliberately obtuse.

"No, I mean go on a date. Mightn't some people suggest that it is at best a conflict of interest?"

Leading Edea from his office, Cid responded, "Mightn't those people just go to hell?"

………………..

Raijin was seated on a stone bench in the small senior's park which was situated in the middle of all the school buildings closed off in a rectangle. He had a free period because of being a senior and only needing his state required senior courses to graduate.

He had no idea yet where he was going to attend college the next year, but he was already certain he would. A number of colleges had offered him full scholarships to play football, but he was waiting to see what his good friend would decide. Seifer promised him that he would not sign any scholarships without their explicit promise to include Raijin; they were a package deal.

_ Hey, there's that chick again that everybody is afraid of, I just don't get it. She looks cool to me. _

Fujin sat on the other side of the courtyard directly across from Raijin as she did every school day that it wasn't raining. She would stare right through him if she noticed him at all.

_ Damn! She's real sweet looking too. I'm gonna go talk to her, the worst she can do is kill me, haha. _

Fujin didn't betray any of her thoughts or feelings as she watched Raijin cross the yard to her. In fact she didn't even blink.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" Raijin queried.

"NO."

_ That's another thing I love about her, she doesn't waste any time on small talk, _ Raijin thought as he sat down next to her.

"I'm Raijin."

She nodded at him. "FUJIN."

"Cool, I play football, ya know?"

"KNOW."

"Would you go with me next week to the Welcome Back Dance?"

Fujin cocked her head and searched his face for any hidden trace of trickery or ridicule. Seeing none, she replied, "SURE."

Raijin beamed at her and let out the breath he had been holding while waiting for her answer. "Cool, ya know!"

The bell rang for the next hours' changing of classes. "Come on," Raijin invited standing up and holding his arm out. "I'll walk you to your next class."

Fujin stood up, looped her arm through the young man's and they strolled off together as though they were on a walk in the country. From a deep corner of the courtyard, Rinoa had watched with avid eyes. The senior's park was where she hid out for most of the day. It was basically fool proof. No body else could be there for more than an hour so she would walk into the building with the old group and walk back out with the incoming group.

_ Raijin was getting along famously with that girl. I bet if he likes her, then Seifer probably does too. I'm gonna have to try and befriend her to see if I can get to Seifer through her. _

………………..

"Hahaha!" Seifer laughed his big guffaw. "You were doing what?!"

He was speaking to Raijin who was standing next to him in the Balamb High shower room. It was just after football practice and they were both showering down in preparation of leaving for home.

"I said I was talking to Fujin and she's way cool."

"Well, you can have her and keep her away from me," Seifer retorted.

"Aw Seifer, don't be like that. I like her, ya know and I like you so I would like you two to like each other, ya know?"

"You know something, Rage? You get more confusing as each year goes by. I think I'm the only person alive who would have understood that last statement," Seifer laughed. "I'm telling you though and I'm not kidding around here. Take her to the dance, take her to the moon for all I care; just keep her away from me. She gives me the creeps. I can't explain it and I don't want to, ok?"

"Ok, you're the boss, ya know?"

"Yeah," Seifer smirked. "Just see that you remember that."

………………..

On Wednesday of that week in the very early afternoon following lunch Rinoa hurried into the senior's park and was overjoyed to see Fujin sitting alone without Raijin sitting beside her which was usually the case. He must have gotten a late start from the cafeteria, she realized.

Not mincing her intentions, Rinoa strode over to where Fujin was sitting and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Rinoa Heartilly."

"FUJIN."

"The thing was I was wondering if you would like to come to my house for dinner on Saturday night?" Rinoa asked with tentativeness in her voice.

"SURE."

It took Rinoa a few seconds to realize the young woman had said yes, she had been so certain she would be turned down.

"Cool!" the dark-haired woman exclaimed. "Give me your address and I'll come with father's chauffeur to pick you up. Is six alright? And don't worry, we don't have to eat with that man."

"YES."

Fujin tore out a sheet of line notebook paper and scribbled her address and passed it to Rinoa.

"Great!" she responded. "See you then."

"FINE," Fujin said. _ Hehehe, _ she thought.

Rinoa realized she had just made it under the wire as Raijin was just coming out of the school as she walked away from Fujin. Raijin came sauntering up and asked, "What was that?"

"DATE."

"With Rinoa?" Raijin asked in wonderment.

"YEP."

They both locked eyes for a second and giggled, "Hehehehe."

………………..

During his free period on Thursday instead of going to senior's park and looking for someone to beat on, Zell decided to go to the library instead. He wasn't interested in locating a good book to read, though. Zell had struck a limited (so far) friendship with a senior girl who spent her free period each day volunteering in the library. She was hoping to major in Library Science in college so the match was perfect as the school budget had been slashed to the bare minimum only leaving one permanent librarian and she only worked part time.

Zell realized that most of the school thought she was a nerd, but he didn't care. Zell delighted in going against the grain, no matter what the issue was. Plus he thought she was kinda cute, although she still insisted in wearing her hair in those ridiculous pig-tails.

Walking into the library he observed a couple of the bigger football players giving her a hard time over by one of the shelves near the back. He just couldn't why it seemed the bigger the players were, the weaker the people they picked on. That's why Zell could never accept any of that sports builds character crap. It always looked to him as if it just built smarter animals.

"Hey Kristine, you okay?" he called out on his way over. Zell didn't necessarily want to force the players into fisticuffs although he would never back down from a fight. He wasn't frightened of them in the least. Zell just didn't want to damage any football players the day before a game.

By the time he reached her side, the players had vanished, almost as if they had dematerialized. "Thank you, Zell" Kristine said sincerely. "That was very brave."

"Oh shucks m'am, tweren't nothing," he drawled in his best John Wayne imitation. Kristine giggled and reached forward and touched him lightly on the arm. "You're great, you know that?"

Zell had to turn his head quickly so the young woman wouldn't see the tears that had sprung to his eyes. No body had ever said that to him that he could remember, but particularly not a girl. _ What's going on with me? _ he wondered.

"Zell, you okay?" Kristine asked worriedly.

Returning his gaze to her, Zell solemnly said, "Just better than I've ever been my entire life. Carry your books for you after school?"

"It would be an honor, sir," Kristine replied.

Before Kristine realized and really before Zell realized too, he leaned down and offered a small kiss on her lips. "See you then," he smiled at her before sauntering from the library.

Kristine reached up in wonderment and touched her lips gently with two fingers. _ I think I'm in love. _

………………..

On Friday evening fifteen minutes before the initial kickoff in the Balamb High - East Academy football game, Brianna, one of the other cheerleaders sidled next to Rinoa and snottily asked her, "Are you wearing your panties tonight or shall I expect some thing scandalous again out of you?"

Rinoa looked on in complete shock for a few seconds and then she slapped the blonde young woman across her smug appearing face.

Brianna stood stunned herself for a couple of seconds and then exclaimed, "You bitch!"

She then launched herself onto Rinoa clutching at her beautiful long dark hair with both hands. Rinoa screamed in pain.

Seifer, on the field warming up with the team, loudly announced, "Cat fight!" This caused everyone on the field and near sidelines to turn and stare at the battling cheerleaders.

"This is great, ya know," Raijin commented.

"Let go of me," Rinoa hissed with great pain in her voice.

"In your dreams!" Brianna retorted. "You started it."

Deciding she had suffered enough, Rinoa tore the sweater and short cheerleader's skirt off Brianna leaving the shapely blonde only wearing her skimpy scanties.

"You slut! I'll get you for this!" Brianna promised before running off to hide under the stands.

"Rinoa, what are you thinking of?" Shana asked. "You're squad captain. People look up to you and depend on you to do the right thing."

Guilt suddenly stabbed at Rinoa as if from a far distance. One bolt of lightning struck startling everyone present as it was one of those that appear to start at ground level and go up to the heavens.

"That may be, but no one can speak to me like that. I won't allow it!"

Shana just sadly shook her head. 


	3. Chapter Three

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

The Highwayman  Copyright Jim Webb

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Three

_I was a sailor  
And I was born upon the tide.  
And with the sea I did abide._

I sailed a schooner around the Horn of Mexico  
I went aloft to furl the main sail in a blow  
And when the yardarm blew off  
They say that I got killed  
But I am living still.

The Highwayman

The football game between Balamb and East Academy High school was almost anticlimactic following Rinoa and Brianna's cat fight. Nobody including the most ardent East Academy rooter gave their football team a ghost of a chance against the powerful Balamb High unit and it turned out that everyone was correct in their assumption.

Balamb won going away sixty-three to nothing. Again Seifer was the hands down hero of the game as he gained over five hundred combined passing and running yards. It would have been even more but the coach chose to rest the first string and played the second unit of offense and defense in the last quarter.

The coach was seeking to protect his star player from a fluke injury and also not necessarily wanting to run up the score on their hapless enemy. Seifer was quite put out because he wanted the best yardage totals he could get to ensure a top scholarship, although he recognized it for the truth as the coach assured him he was already guaranteed a top scholarship to wherever he wanted to go, outside of an Ivy League school.

As Seifer and Raijin stood soaping up lather in the showers after the game, Seifer asked, "Hey, Rage, did you see all those college scouts in the crowd?"

"Yep, sure did, ya know and you put on a hella show tonight, Seifer," Raijin praised.

"Thanks, but I could've done better if the coach would have left me in, the jerk," Seifer replied.

"Aw Seifer, you got nothing to worry about, you know you can go anywhere you want, ya know. Have you made up your mind yet where we're going?"

"Yeah, I think so, Rage. I had it narrowed down between the University of Miami and Florida State University. They both have kick ass football programs and they're both where I want to be - someplace warm!"

"Well, do you know yet which one, ya know?" Raijin naturally wanted to know because he was going too.

"Yeah, F.S.U., Miami's program is real hot right now, and Florida State has gone down some so I would have the best chance there to start right away and not be red-shirted," Seifer explained.

"They want you to wear a red shirt? What for, ya know?" Raijin asked completely confused.

"No, no, Rage, not make me wear a red shirt, be red-shirted, it means they would hold me out for a whole year so I could retain my four years of eligibility. But I wanna start as a true Freshman," Seifer answered patiently.

"Ya mean you can't tell a lie if you're a Freshman there?" Raijin asked.

"Rage, just forget about it. It's not important."

"When we are gonna sign the letter of intent?" Seifer's less than knowledgeable friend asked.

"We can't sign until after football season is over, so don't tell anyone - not even that _ wacky _ girlfriend of yours," Seifer cautioned.

"Aw, Seifer, Fujin won't tell anyone, she can't. Florida State University is three words, ya know."

"Haha! You're a laugh, Rage. Well don't tell her anyway. What are you doing later?" Seifer asked.

"Going with Fujin to hang out at 'Balamb Burger,' wanna go, ya know?"

"No, sounds boring, what do you see in that dyke anyway?" Seifer asked.

"She's not a dyke, she's bi, ya know."

"Oh yeah, big difference," Seifer retorted sarcastically.

"There is, ya know."

"Okay Rage, whatever you say," Seifer answered giving up.

"What are ya gonna do?" Raijin asked.

"Got a date."

……….

Squall slouched across the parking lot to his Harley Davidson. As usual he was clad all in black. _ I don't understand why I keep coming to these things. All week I tell myself I'm not gonna waste my time, and then I come anyway. It's like I'm drawn here beyond my will. I don't know what is it, but it seems as if there are more important things to be wasting energy on then playing football. _

Hopping onto his motorcycle, Squall roared off into the New Jersey night.

……….

Quistis sat in her lonely spartan bedroom with stacks of books piled up and around her on the floor and also on her desk where she sat reading. She wasn't studying for any current assignment. Those were all finished, including a twenty page term paper due before Christmas break. Quistis was taking notes on chapters that were much further along in the curriculum.

_I bet I was probably the only student in the entire school who didn't attend the game. Idiots! Will football help me obtain an academic scholarship?_

As Quistis attempted to redirect her attention to the Physics textbook laying before her, her feelings of loneliness attempted to bubble up in her. Feeling vaguely disquieted for a moment, her wall of scornful intellectualism successfully caused the feelings to fall away once again to a place buried deep inside of her.

……….

The Balamb High principal and the new counselor were sitting at a traffic light in Cid's old Buick. They had attended the game together.

"This is an antique, isn't it?" Edea asked.

Cid coughed and blushed. "No, you know what principals make, it's just old."

"I'm sorry," she offered. "I was just making a bad joke."

Cid smiled, "I forgot. You have a quirky sense of humor."

The light changed and, as Cid pulled the Buick away, Edea fell sideways into the crook of his right arm, which he had leaning straight out on the back of the front seat. Cid's mouth went dry and he swallowed hard. Edea smiled to herself in the dark.

"Cid, there's a question I've been meaning to ask you. What is the meaning of the athletic team's nickname?"

"Oh, you mean SeeDs? Haha," Cid replied. "No one knows for certain."

"That's kind of strange, isn't it?"

"Well, you need to know that Balamb High is over fifty years old and they didn't leave anything written about how they came to choose that name. The answer is lost in history, but I've always thought it had something to do with Garden University. You know, turning out student athletes to move to a higher education at the university? SeeDs at the Garden?"

Edea laughed, "I never thought of that, but what about the large D near the end of the name?"

"No one has a clue about that, it just always has been that way."

Arriving at the apartment complex where she lived, Cid walked Edea to the front door of her two story townhouse.

"I had a wonderful time. Thank you for inviting me," Edea spoke in a low throaty voice. She held her right hand out to shake hands 'goodnight.'

"Well, you know…it was just a highschool football game," Cid stammered. "But I had a great time too," he quickly added, while sadly accepting her handshake with a look of pure longing.

As Cid went to pull his hand away, Edea prevented it by placing her left hand on top of their hands. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" she asked.

Cid stood completely dumbfound and his heart was racing. "Sure," he finally murmured.

Edea never let go of his hand but instead turned and unlocked the door with her left hand, and then led him inside, closing the door behind them for the night.

……….

Seifer stepped out the back door of the locker room. He crossed the asphalt parking lot to the home bleachers. The evening had grown quite cool.

"About time you got here. I'm freezing to death," complained Brianna.

The pretty blonde was crouched on the ground and had her arms wrapped around herself in an effort to protect her underdressed condition from prying eyes as well as to stay as warm as possible. Her teeth were chattering as she spoke. Seifer noticed the chill bumps on her skin from the chilly air and there was a lot of her body present for his viewing pleasure.

"Haha!" he guffawed. "Serves you right for letting that cow Rinoa strip you. Here," Seifer said, holding out a long gray coat to her.

Brianna remained crouched on the ground too embarrassed to stand up in front of Seifer, now that they were alone.

"You could at least have the courtesy to turn your head," she snapped.

"Nope," he retorted while grinning wolfishly at her. "But you can turn your head if you want to."

"Oh, alright," Brianna sighed resignedly and stood up. _ Our relationship hasn't progressed enough for him to see me like this, _ she thought as she slipped the coat on and buttoned it quickly.

The coat draped on the ground by almost eight inches as Brianna was considerably shorter than Seifer. "Where did you get this coat?" she asked puzzled fore Brianna had never seen Seifer wear it before.

"I don't really know, but I've owned it all my life. Those markings are some sort of strange military insignia. I keep in my locker in case a sudden storm comes up while I'm in school," Seifer explained.

"Well, it looks cool," Brianna praised.

"Of course it does," Seifer smirked.

"I'm gonna get that bitch Rinoa, you mark my words," vowed Brianna.

"Whatever," he replied. _ Why did that phrase spring to his lips? _ he wondered.

He had never used that expression, but he felt strangely as though he knew someone who had said it hundreds of times. _ Weird, _ he thought, shaking his head.

"Come on," Seifer directed the teenage girl. "It's cold out here."

"What are we going to do tonight?" Brianna asked.

"We can't go anywhere in public with what you're wearing so there's really only one thing we can do," Seifer replied wearing a sly grin on his handsome face.

"No, Seifer."

"Yes," he responded stubbornly.

"No, I said!" Brianna retorted.

"Yes!" he repeated.

As the young couple argued endlessly while they crossed the parking lot to Seifer's 'ride,' Rinoa stepped out of the darkness with tears flowing endlessly down her face.

……….

Zell waited silently down a dirty alleyway in the poorer part of Balamb. He was breathing very lightly and standing stock still. Zell was listening intently that the inevitable attack from the gang at East Academy had begun.

The gang fights were traditionally scheduled to coincide with the athletic contests between the schools. For instance, if that night's football game had been held in East Academy instead of Balamb, Zell's gang would have invaded their territory instead.

This meant the gang activity was intense during the basketball schedule because of midweek games besides the ones on Friday nights. The summer was a time of peace. This allowed the shore to be available to all the gangs.

The only way the truce could be broken was if one gang member badly insulted a member from another gang, but the rumble would never happen at the beach. It was to be scheduled at another time, another place.

His gang members were hidden and scattered in strategic locations all around the immediate area. Lookouts had been posted in all possible directions and they could be trusted to signal the earliest warning of the invasion of their territory.

For the first time in his life Zell didn't want to be here preparing for a rumble. Zell wanted to be with Kristine. He longed to be with Kristine. He had never known anyone who was so accepting of him and she touched his feelings in places that Zell didn't know existed.

Zell realized that he was trapped. He could never desert his gang in their fights to defend their turf but he wanted to be with Kristine every minute of every day.

_It's funny, _ he thought. _ I feel as though I know her from another time…another place. At least I'll see her tomorrow night._

That thought brought a smile to his tense lips. When he had walked with her afterschool he had asked for her phone number. Kristine had handed him the piece of paper with it written on it so quickly it was as if she had been waiting for him to ask her.

_But that can't be right, can it? _ he thought.

After leaving Kristine as her door Zell had traveled straight home and paced around his small bedroom for an hour attempting to screw up his courage to call her and ask her out on a date.

When Zell finally called her, his voice was quavering but he managed somehow to stammer out his request. Kristine had immediately accepted and he felt like leaping for joy.

But a date! Zell had never been on a date in his life. What if he made a fool out of himself in front of Kristine? Of course Zell had had many young women but these had only been his gang groupies and they ultimately meant nothing to him.

_It's so weird, _ Zell thought, _ I've never felt like this before, so out of control. _

The shrill whistle brought Zell sharply to his senses. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two rolls of dimes, clutching one in each clenched fist. Other weapons were allowed except for guns, but Zell had always relied solely on his fists. They were his energy and they had never let him down.

Stepping out from the darkness, Zell observed the first invading East Academy gang members. He sprinted up the street towards them screaming out curse laced threats. The rumble had started.

……….

Squall slouched into his bedroom. He removed his black coat and hung it in his closet.

_What's this? _ he thought, _ I've never seen this before. _

Squall fingered the mysterious leather jacket in question and was suddenly jolted with a series of strange mental images.

_What the hell was that? _ the teenage goth thought as he closed the closet door.

……….

Selphie waited angrily by the Balamb High football field for her ride to show up. She was also extremely cold since all she wore to the game was her short yellow dress and brown boots.

_I'm gonna kill that Quistis the next time I see her. I distinctly remember asking her on Thursday when we were eating lunch and she had her nose stuck in a book if she wanted to drive and go to the football game with me and she said, 'Uh huh.' Hey, there's that weird guy that always stares at everyone all the time. Maybe he can give me a ride home._

"Hey!" Selphie shouted. "Can you give me a ride home?"

Irvine had just stepped out of the fringe of woods that half circled the football field. He had been stashing a few of his firearms. Irvine had decided if he couldn't necessarily sneak them through the metal detectors in the school, he could still keep them near him.

The tall long-haired teenager had used this golden opportunity to hide them because directly after the football game was the only time the Balamb Police wouldn't harass him if they caught him behind the school.

Of course Irvine realized he would have to creep out there and clean them every day before returning them to their leather carrying cases, but that wasn't a problem. He loved cleaning them and touching and fondling them.

Irvine had a distinct feeling that if life kept insulting him the way it had been, the day of the ultimate reckoning would soon be arriving.

"Hey!" Selphie called out to him and then began to run towards him. Irvine was startled and he whirled around. He was relieved that he didn't have one of his guns with him because he might have blown her away out of surprise.

_Oh, it's that hippie chick that always wears the same short yellow dress, _ Irvine realized.

"Can you give me a ride?" Selphie asked as she drew closer to him. She was breathing heavily and her face was flushed.

Irvine looked at her strangely for a moment and then replied, "Sure, come on."

He set off with his long lopping strides causing his long brown coat to flap behind him in the wind to where his car was parked. Selphie hurried behind him with her usual short steps.

_Why does this feel so familiar to me? Do I know him? _

"Hey, is your name Irvine?" Selphie called out.

Irvine stopped in his tracks and turned toward her. "Yeah, why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Have we ever met? Do you know me?" Selphie replied.

"No, I don't think so. Come on, my ride's over here." _ Funny she said that, I was just thinking that she seemed so familiar to me. _

When they reached the roofless vehicle Irvine jumped gracefully over the driver's side door and landed behind the steering wheel.

"Well, I like that," Selphie complained. "If you couldn't open my door for me like a gentleman, you could at least unlock it."

Selphie was futilely tugging on the door handle unable to budge it.

Irvine laughed and explained, "This is a hot rod and the doors are welded shut. You have to climb in."

When Selphie awkwardly scrambled into the car, Irvine had an extra closeup view of her panties.

_Hmmm, _ Irvine thought. "Your name is Selphie, isn't it?" Irvine asked as he started the hot rod and they screeched from the parking lot laying down a wide swath of rubber.

"Yeah, it is," she answered.

Nothing more was said, except for Selphie offering directions to where she lived. Arriving in front of her home, Irvine was intently watching as Selphie climbed out; again being offered a closeup view of what lay beneath her skirt, but this time from her backside.

"Hey, you wanna go out tomorrow night?" Irvine suddenly asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I guess," Selphie answered.

"Seven o'clock," Irvine explained and then he down shifted roaring off.

Watching as he disappeared from her sight, Selphie thought, _ That guy is so weird. Why ever did I say yes? _

……….

'Balamb Burger' was conveniently located across the street from Balamb High. It was no coincidence, it had been built there on purpose and did a great business after homegames. In fact, it was always full of students except during regular school hours.

If students went out in the evenings and didn't have any where in particular to go, they usually ended up there. There was even the town's most popular rock station piped in over their loud speakers.

None of Balamb's other fast food restaurants did any business after the dinner hour and would close up early. Consequently the field was left wide open for 'Balamb Burger.'

Raijin and Fujin were sitting at a table near the back on the right side of the fast food restaurant. They were eating french fries and sipping 'Balamb Colas.'

"Did you enjoy the game?" Raijin asked.

"Yes," Fujin replied and then smiled at him. "You," she said pointing at him. "Great."

"Aw, thanks, ya know."

Rinoa suddenly burst through the restaurant's front doors. Her face was flushed from weeping and the cold, her gaze was wild eyed. As her glance crazily swept the room, someone called out, "Hey Rinoa, nice show tonight."

This sally was followed by most of the students in the restaurant bursting into laughter and applause. Rinoa broke into tears and fled the eatery.

Once out in the parking lot, Rinoa thought, _ At least Raijin and Fujin are still dating. I still have a chance of getting to Seifer through her. _

Raijin looked at Fujin and declared, "Rinoa looked upset, ya know. Are you still going to dinner tomorrow night with her?"

"Yeah," answered Fujin.

"What are you going to do?"

"Score," Fujin plainly announced.

The two of them lowered their heads slightly, and continued to eat french fries while laughing quietly.

……….

Kristine stepped out of her clothes quickly and then slipped on her long woolen nightgown immediately. Her father always insisted turning off the heat at night to save money.

Even though it was only late September, it was already chilly. Kristine slipped into bed and turned off her bed light. She lay with a warm heart thinking of Zell.

_I hope he's okay tonight. Oh what am I worried about, he can take care of himself. Look at how he scared those big football players away this afternoon. That was so romantic, oh Zell, I can hardly wait 'til tomorrow night. _

Kristine reached down and pulled her nightgown up to her waist. _ And he's so hot, _ she thought, as her right hand snaked down below her waist. "Oh Zell," she moaned. 


	4. Chapter Four

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

The Highwayman  Copyright Jim Webb

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Four

_I was a dam builder  
Across the river deep and wide  
Where steel and water did collide_

A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado  
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below  
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound  
But I am still around. 

The Highwayman  
All Rights Reserved Jimmy Webb

It was very early in the morning when Cid crept down the long staircase from Edea's bedroom. He was completely dressed except for the shoes he was carrying in his hands.

When Cid reached the foot of the stairs, he heard, "Going somewhere?"

He turned and saw Edea standing at the head of the stairs. He gasped, his breath taken away again as it had been on the previous evening.

_ She is even more beautiful in the daylight, _ he thought. Staring at her, he finally realized she was waiting for his answer.

"Uhm…well, you know…I thought I should go home."

"Why? Do you have something pressing to do?" Edea asked.

"No, no, that's not it. I just didn't want to overstay my welcome."

"Come back up," Edea invited, smiling at him and offering her right hand in welcome. "And lose some of those clothes, you're embarrassing me standing there completely dressed."

"Gladly," Cid smiled while beginning to unbutton his shirt.

……….

It was raining and Quistis was growing wetter and colder by the minute as she waited at the city bus stop. She cursed herself for not being smart enough to bring her raincoat when it had looked so gray out.

_ But it always looks this gray because of the pollution, how was I to know? _

Hearing the loud bup-bup-bup of a large motorcycle approaching, she naturally glanced towards the sound and was surprised to see Squall approaching her on his big Harley. She was surprised because he was reputed to be as reclusive as she and also that he appeared intent on speaking to her. Squall had never even acknowledged her presence before.

"Need a lift?" he asked after gearing down making the noise at least bearable in Quistis' opinion.

"No, I'm okay," she answered stiffly. "The bus will be here in a minute."

"Come on," he said. "You'll be drenched by the time it gets here. Where are you headed?"

Not appreciating his insistence, Quistis sarcastically replied, "I'm going somewhere I'm sure you're totally unaware of - the public library."

Quistis was even more nonplussed when the young goth answered, "Not only do I know where it is, that's where I'm going. Now come on, you're getting drenched," Squall insisted, while holding out a hand to help her climb on the back of the bike.

Quistis realized if she grew more soaked she would probably end up sick and she certainly didn't want to miss any school because of having a bad cold. _ Scholarship committees don't understand someone being sick, they only understand top grades and good college boards. _

The blonde young woman accepted his hand and climbed onto the back of the big motorcycle. She sat perplexed as to where to place her hands. _ Oh, this is so embarrassing, around his waist? No, that can't be right. _

Squall sensed her indecision and said, "Place your hands around my chest."

As soon as Quistis had complied, Squall slipped the Harley back into gear and after waiting for his place in traffic he roared off. Quistis was initially frightened because she had never ridden on the back of a motorcycle. After a few minutes of observing Squall's consummate handling of it as he pulled around slower traffic, but was always in control of the huge road machine, she grew calm and even began to enjoy the thrill of it.

In a few minutes Squall pulled up in front of the public library and insisted Quistis run inside and he would then go park. Once inside Quistis felt immediately warmer and shook the rain water off her much in a manner reminiscent of a duck ruffling its' feathers.

Even though she was impatient to begin her search for the books she needed for some of her advanced studies, Quistis decided it would be only polite to wait for Squall. _ After all he saved me about thirty minutes of wet misery waiting for that damn bus. _

Squall appeared slightly amused when he observed Quistis waiting for him. "Thanks," he murmured.

"No problem, where you headed?" she asked.

"I'm looking for some books on weaponry," Squall explained.

"Oh, that's on the third floor. That's the same floor I'm going."

Squall looked at her in surprise. "I used to practically live here when I was younger," Quistis explained. "I know where everything is."

"Elevator or walk?" Squall asked, while pointing at the staircase that lay to the right.

"Walk," Quistis emphatically said. "That elevator scares me. It clanks so much and it's so slow I'm always sure I'll get locked in there."

"Yeah, me too," Squall agreed.

Once they reached the third floor via the steps, Quistis quickly found the books she needed to take notes from. She carried a stack of five books over to a vacant table and sat down. Quistis pulled her notebook and pen from her small carry bag and then began searching in the books for the pertinent information she was seeking.

Squall located the weaponry shelf without any difficulty, but spent quite a few minutes standing there searching for a specific weapon. It was not a weapon he was familiar with. It was one of the mental images he had received from touching the strange coat in his closet the night before, although it was the only one that he could still remember clearly.

_ There it is! _ he thought excitedly. _ What is that? Some sort of gun on the end of a sword? I've never heard about anything like that. _

Underneath the picture of the strange weapon it read, ** An example of an early gunblade. **

_ A gunblade? What the hell is that? _

He carried the book open to the exact page over to Quistis where she was steadily taking notes. "Excuse me, I hate to bother you when you look so busy, but have you ever heard of or seen a weapon like this before?"

Squall handed the book to Quistis as she looked up at him, but he kept his finger on the proper picture until he could see that she understood which picture he was pointing to.

Quistis looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Sure, it's just an old fashioned six shooter."

"What?!" Squall exclaimed loudly. Someone somewhere in the library cautioned, "Shhh!"

Squall hurriedly accepted the book back and searched the page. _ What the hell is going on? _ He felt his body being covered with goose bumps. There was no picture of a gunblade on the page.

He realized that Quistis was now looking at him strangely and he apologized, "I'm sorry to have interrupted you over something so trivial."

Quistis smiled at him. _ He's really a lot different then I thought. _ "No bother, I'm about finished. How about you?"

"Yeah," Squall agreed. "I've seen more than enough or apparently even more then is there."

After Squall returned the book to the proper shelf, he helped Quistis reshelf the books she had been working with. As Squall and Quistis exited the library, they observed that the rain had stopped and the sun had made its' appearance.

Squall asked, "Would you like to go get a cup of coffee?"

Quistis flushed and hesitated for a second. "Okay," she finally replied. _ What's wrong with me? I need to get home and start studying. Well, it's only polite, he didn't have to give me a ride here in that rain. _

"I'm parked over there," Squall pointed.

He instinctively realized that the young blonde woman was having an interior argument with herself over something and he didn't say anything until they both were seated on his rumbling Harley Davidson.

"Hang on tight," Squall said, and waited for Quistis to comply.

Squall roared out of the parking lot and back into traffic. Ten minutes later he was parking in front of 'Balamb Burger.'

"You want to go here?" Quistis asked surprised. 'Balamb Burger' was usually the place people went to on their first dates. It was considered a safe place for a young woman.

"Sure, why not? It's just Saturday morning coffee."

Quistis decided she was reading far too much into this as she often did, being the intense driven personality that she was. They retreated off Squall's bike and entered the fast food restaurant. After receiving their orders and Squall paying for both over Quistis' protestations, he led them to a table by the front window from where they could be observed readily by anyone who entered.

Quistis was surprised that Squall wanted to sit with her in such a public location. She perceived herself as a drudge rather than realizing her beauty that lay beneath her glasses, pretty hair tied in a bun, and her rather staid outfits.

"What was that you were looking for in that book?" Quistis asked.

Squall flushed. "Oh, I know it sounds stupid, but it was just something I remembered from a dream." He was too embarrassed about it to say he received the knowledge of it in a vision.

"A dream?!" she questioned.

Squall attempted to laugh depreciatingly but failed since it came out as if he was being strangled. "Yeah, but it seemed so real, I could see every detail of it."

"What's it called again? Quistis inquired.

"A gunblade."

_ That's strange, that sounds familiar to me too, _ the young woman thought. "Weird name," she offered.

"Yeah," Squall agreed.

After they had finished their coffee, Squall inquired, "Ready?"

Quistis nodded and they stood up and exited the restaurant. This time Quistis noticed she did not feel strange at all when she threw her leg up over the back of the large motorcycle that was already running. She leaned forward and snuggled up to his back while wrapping her hands, once again, on his chest.

Squall pulled out of the parking lot and ten minutes later he deposited Quistis in front of her address. He roared off but not before waving on his way. Quistis stood and waved in return feeling as though she had just let something exciting get away.

……….

In the very early evening Zell was standing in front of the door of Kristine's house. He was holding a dozen roses in his hand and glanced around nervously hoping that no one he knew saw him holding them.

He was the owner of a few nasty appearing bruises on various parts of his muscular body from the rumble on the previous evening, although the East Academy gang had been thoroughly routed.

Zell stood there for a couple of minutes working up his nerve before he finally knocked on the door. He heard the voice of Kristine clearly call out from within the structure, "I'll get it!"

And the door opened and there she was, standing before him. Kristine exclaimed, upon seeing the roses residing in Zell's right hand, "Oh Zell, they're beautiful, you're so sweet."

She stepped up and kissed him on his right cheek, while taking the roses from him. "Wait here, I'll put them in water. I'll be right back," Kristine explained while shutting the door.

Zell was very appreciative that Kristine was attempting to act as a buffer between him and her parents. He certainly hadn't been looking forward to meeting them and having them stand there relentlessly staring while he attempted to stammer out some niceties.

Kristine was as good as her word and she returned in less than a minute. "Where are we going?" Kristine asked, closing the front door behind her.

"Where would you like to go?" Zell replied, as he actually had no idea at the time where he was taking her.

"Wherever you want," the young woman cooed.

Zell realized this was getting them nowhere and could go on all night at this rate. He was also worried if they continued standing there, her parents might open the front door so he quickly suggested they continued their discussion on the road.

After they were safely riding down the street, Kristine broached, "I would like to meet your mother."

"You wanna meet my mother?!" Zell replied completely flabbergasted.

No young woman he had ever known had made such a strange request. "Yes, I do, why is that so strange? I'm going to marry you someday you know," Kristine answered.

Zell was so surprised by that statement he almost drove off the road. "Marry me?!"

"Yes," the pig-tailed young woman insisted. "So take me to your homestead, my glorious young knight," Kristine declared while mixing several genres.

Ten minutes later Zell parked the car by the curbside in front of his house. "You're sure you wanna do this?" he asked.

"Certainly, kind sir," Kristine assured him with a twinkle in her eye.

Zell smiled at her. He realized she was doing all she could to set him at ease and he fully appreciated it.

_ He's so beautiful when he smiles, I wish he would do it more often. _ Kristine realized the number one hoodlum of Balamb High wasn't well known for his smiles; grimaces, maybe, but never smiles.

Zell stepped out of the car and hurried around to the other side to open the door for Kristine. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome."

Zell took her right hand in his and led her up the walk to his front door. Opening the door and stepping inside, Zell called out, "Ma, there's someone here I want you to meet."

Kristine observed a rather rotund middleaged woman, who had her brown hair tied up in a short bun step out from the kitchen. "Well, who do we have here?" she asked.

"This is Kristine, Ma," Zell said by way of introduction.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm sure," Kristine responded while holding her right hand out.

Kristine had learned everything she knew in the way of social graces by the way of watching old movies. Zell's mother took it in her hand and exclaimed, "Aren't you just too precious," embarrassing Zell greatly.

Zell coughed and his mother took the hint. "Well, I'll be in the kitchen if you two need anything. Zell, show her around the house," the older woman spoke and dropping Kristine's hand, she returned to her former preoccupation.

As it was a very small residence, Zell was able to stay in one room and point out the other ones. "This is the dining room, that's the kitchen, and there's the living room. Are you ready to leave?"

"I haven't seen your room yet," Kristine spoke coyly.

Zell was taken aback but explained, "It's right up these stairs, follow me."

As soon as they entered Zell's bedroom, Kristine spotted the huge skateboard. "Oh, I didn't know you were a skater. That's a really expensive board."

"I'm not although I know how to. I've just always owned that."

"Let me try," Kristine demanded.

Stepping up on the skateboard and, attempting to move it across the room, Kristine immediately fell off onto her behind. Her skirts flew up to her waist displaying to Zell her frilly white panties.

Zell blushed furiously and quickly turned his head, but then realized he was going to have to assist her to regain her feet.

"Ow!" the young woman cried out.

"Are you okay?" Zell asked while attempting to reach out his hands to her without really looking at her.

"Yes, but my pride is injured," Kristine answered as she accepted Zell's hands and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"As long as it's just your pride, then don't worry. I won't tell," Zell attempted to joke.

As Kristine smoothed her short skirt down, she asked, "Who's that in the picture?" while pointing to a photograph that hung from his wall.

"That's my grandfather. He was a hero in the Second World War. I really look up to him," Zell spoke embarrassedly.

He had never told another living soul about his grandfather. Why was he telling her this, he wondered.

"And here's your punching bag," Kristine spoke cheerfully in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Watch me give it a shot," she vowed.

"Be careful," Zell warned. Kristine offered the small bag that was attached to the ceiling a straight right and it bounced back and hit her square in the nose.

"Ow!" she complained.

Zell laughed but then asked, "Are you okay? I told you to be careful."

"Your room is dangerous," she stated.

"That's why I don't let usually let anyone up here."

"Oh, you don't, do you?" Kristine joked, arching an eyebrow. "So what do you have in mind?"

Zell blushed again and stammered, "Uh….n-nothing, nothing at all."

"Aw," Kristine complained, "how boring."

_ I know she's kidding, but what if she isn't? How would I know? _ "Are you ready to leave?" Zell inquired.

"Nope, I was hoping we could sit and talk, but there doesn't seem to be anywhere to sit except for your bed," Kristine answered, while glancing around the room.

Zell's heart skipped a beat. "We can sit on my bed if you want to," Zell offered.

"Oh good!" she exclaimed and threw herself down on the bed in a sitting position. Zell was suddenly struck with a vague memory of another time that had happened, with another girl.

_ How can that be? I've never had another girl up here before. _

"Are you going to sit down or just stand there?" Kristine asked archly.

Zell quickly sat beside her. They were silent for a matter of seconds and then Zell asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"About how I've been wanting to do this," she answered and then pulled his face down to hers in a passionate kiss.

Nothing more was said for a matter of minutes as they explored each other's lips and then finally mouths.

"Oh Zell," Kristine moaned." I have dreamt of this so," and the young woman unbuttoned her blouse liberating her breasts to the eyesight of the shocked Zell.

_ Oh my God! _ he thought.


	5. Chapter Five

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

The Highwayman  Copyright Jim Webb

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Five

_ A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado  
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below  
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound  
But I am still around._

It all goes round and round and round and round and round and round 

The Highwayman  
All right reserved Jimmy Webb

Irvine knocked on the door of the house he had let Selphie off in front of on the previous evening. Slam! Crash! Clatter came from within the house.

"Ow!" a female voice complained.

Irvine couldn't help himself and inched the door open to see what had happened. Selphie lay at the bottom of a steep staircase with her short dress all skewed around her waist.

_ Hmmm, _ he thought. _ Again - this chick's a trip. _

"Are you okay?" he asked on more than one level.

Selphie sprang to her feet as she was used to being a klutz.

"I'm fine, let's go," she directed cheerfully as she linked her arm inside of his and led him from the house.

Much to Irvine's disappointment, Selphie was much more polished in her approach of climbing into his hot rod.

"What are we going to do?" she naturally asked.

"Well, you're probably gonna think this is weird," Irvine began.

_ No doubt, _ Selphie thought.

"But I wondered if you wanted to go help me clean my guns?"

"Sure," Selphie replied. _ I was right, this guy is weird. Clean his guns? What kind of euphemism is that for having sex? Well, guns are said to be phallic. That must be it. _

Irvine started his vehicle and a short while later they were pulling around the back of Balamb High. Irvine realized it was too early in the evening for the police to be worried about inspecting the area, they usually only came around late at night.

_ What are we doing here? _ Selphie wondered. _ Oh, I get it - in the woods. I hope he brought a blanket. _

After parking Irvine jumped out and went around to the back and opened his trunk. Selphie was relieved to see he was retrieving a blanket along with a carry bag. She wondered what was in the bag, but supposed she would soon find out.

"Come on," Irvine said, while taking the now standing Selphie by the hand and leading her into the woods.

Selphie thought she was correct in her assumption when Irvine lay the blanket out smooth on the forest floor and then began removing his clothes. Irvine never thought that stripping naked when cleaning his guns was kinky in any manner. He looked at it as just being practical. After all, he didn't want to leave any tell tale signs on his clothing from the cleaning because he was that careful that no one should discover his weapon cache. Also he knew that his freshly showered body was much cleaner than his clothing and he loathed the idea that any particles of dirt or dust could mar the precision of his fire arms.

_ Kinda cock sure of himself, isn't he? Oh well, they say the age of true romance is dead. _ Selphie did the same and they were soon standing nude in front of each other. _ This guy is so strange, why doesn't he say anything? _

As a matter of fact for the first time in his life, Irvine was distracted from the immediate job of cleaning his guns. He realized he was feeling extremely flushed and excited. Pulling Selphie to him, he just silently held her in an embrace.

_ She feels as good as a 357 in my hands. _ Irvine pulled Selphie down with him to the blanket. _ I can clean my guns later, _ he thought.

"You're so beautiful," Irvine finally spoke.

……….

Rinoa was sitting in the back seat of her father's long Cadillac limousine at 6:45 in the evening. The chauffeur had just pulled the biggest vehicle that had ever been seen on that particular block in Balamb up to the curb in front of the address that had been provided him by _ Miss _ Rinoa.

Rinoa realized she had left early but she had just been so nervous and impatient for seven o'clock to arrive, she had instructed their driver to leave ahead of time; plus she really didn't know from the address where Fujin actually lived. She didn't want to take the chance of arriving late and maybe having Fujin leave.

This was a part of town Rinoa had never strayed to. It wasn't disadvantaged, it was just a typical middle class block. Financially Rinoa's father provided a much richer environment, for which she had no appreciation of at all.

Rinoa was luckier than most people, she had learned early on that riches did not guarantee happiness; in fact, in some cases it seemed to be just the opposite.

Observing Fujin waiting by herself in front of the house, Rinoa felt a great sense of relief. Until she had seen Fujin with her own eyes she wasn't going to believe that the young woman was going to follow through on her promise and come to her home for dinner.

Rinoa scooted across the seat and partially rolled down the back window. She waved her hand in such a fashion to indicate to Fujin to step down the walk to the car. Rinoa knew it was probably rude of her not to get out and go to the door, but after all this wasn't a date.

Fujin walked down the front walk to the long limo, neither fast nor slow, just solid. Rinoa threw the door open for her and then scooted back across the seat to make room for Fujin. Fujin entered the vehicle and the chauffeur, who by now was standing by the back door in performance of his job, shut it behind Fujin.

After the driver had smoothly glided the limo away from the curb and back into traffic, Rinoa said, "Sorry, I came a little early."

"Alright," Fujin replied.

"Good," Rinoa smiled at her.

Fujin returned a wink, which slightly disconcerted Rinoa. _ What exactly did that mean? _

"It'll take about thirty minutes to reach my home," Rinoa explained.

"Okay."

"What would you like for dinner, we can have anything you want," Rinoa spoke.

"Seafood," Fujin answered.

"Any particular kind?"

"Shrimp."

"Okay, I'll inform the chef when we arrive," Rinoa stated.

During the rest of the short journey Rinoa attempted her best to make small talk leading to the subject of Seifer, but was thwarted at every turn by Fujin's one word answers. She realized she should just ask point blank, but Rinoa had grown frightened of what answer she might receive.

Fujin's eyes widened slightly when she first beheld the size of the three story mansion that Rinoa resided in. "It's not much, but I call it home," Rinoa attempted to joke.

As she observed the serious look on Fujin's features, Rinoa realized her attempt at a witticism had fallen flat. The chauffeur pulled the long limo around the traffic circle in front of the mansion and stopped by the front door.

He sprang out and first released Fujin's door and hurried around to Rinoa's. Rinoa smiled again at Fujin and offered, "Come on in."

When dinner was served in the huge ornate dining room at the extremely long impersonal table, Fujin looked on in disbelief; first at the size of the dining room and then at the dinner. She observed shrimp cocktail, fried shrimp, boiled shrimp, and shrimp salad sitting on the table.

"Wow!" Fujin exclaimed.

"Well, you said you liked shrimp," Rinoa explained and smiled at her.

Fujin smiled back. _ That's a first, _ Rinoa thought.

"I hate this room, it's too unfriendly. Load up your plate and get a drink and we'll go up to my room," Rinoa suggested.

Fujin obviously thought for a moment, but only replied, "Okay."

After they had entered Rinoa's huge bedroom, Rinoa went and sat on her bed.

"Sit anywhere you want," Rinoa invited.

Fujin immediately sat down beside Rinoa, causing her to feel more than a little disconcerted. _ What is she doing? _ Rinoa wondered, but didn't say anything out of politeness.

Rinoa attempted to make conversation during the meal, which mostly fell flat because of Fujin's lack of interaction so Rinoa soon fell to finishing her dinner.

After they had eaten, Fujin complimented, "Good!"

"Yes, it was," Rinoa agreed. "Thanks, but it was our chef we should thank. What would you like to do tonight? We have a pool table, ping-pong, foosball, or we could use the indoor pool."

"Swim!" was Fujin's boisterous answer.

Rinoa was slightly taken aback as she hadn't been expecting that response. She assumed her friend wouldn't have known to bring a bathing suit, but that was okay because her father often entertained business contacts for the military and there were many different styles and sizes of swimming suits available.

_ But how would she know that? _ Rinoa wondered. Rinoa smiled nonetheless and replied, "Then the pool it is."

She crossed to one of the three large dressers in her room and, after a moment of looking through one of the drawers, she pulled out one of her bikinis. "Come on," Rinoa invited and the two young women left her bedroom.

Naturally enough the indoor pool was located on a lower level and in this case it was a sub-basement. They rode down the elevator in silence and then Rinoa crossed to the locker room door and held it open for Fujin to enter first.

Rinoa then went to a small cardboard and opened it while explaining, "We have clean suits in here of all styles and sizes. You're welcome to choose any one you like."

"Okay."

Rinoa moved to one of the two benches available to sit on in front of four small lockers and laid her bikini on it. She turned her back to Fujin to allow her dinner guest some privacy.

As she removed her clothing, Rinoa thought, _ How am I going to bring up the subject of Seifer to her and get her to put in a good word for me? _

Rinoa removed her last item of apparel and was preparing to don her bikini when she suddenly felt Fuijin's strong hands rubbing her shoulders.

"Oh!" she gasped in surprise. _ God, that feels good. _

"Massage," Fujin explained.

Rinoa felt all her muscles loosening as she had been so tense lately and it felt heavenly. It was a bit too much though when Fujin lowered her hands down to Rinoa's buttocks and she was going to complain because it just seemed so strange and wrong to her, but it still felt so good she couldn't say anything.

Suddenly Fujin's hands dipped into an area they had no business in, as far as Rinoa was concerned, and she complained, "Hey!"

As Fujin continued her ministrations, Rinoa thought, _ Oh my God! Oh my God! _

Later as Rinoa and Fujin were laying nakedly on a heavy bed of towels on the locker room floor, Rinoa sighed, "That was heavenly."

"Yes!"

……….

Seifer and Brianna were seated in the front seat of his car at the Balamb Drive-In Theatre. He was avidly watching his favorite movie of all time - 'The Unrelenting.' Strangely enough it was an historical drama, one involving a beautiful and evil queen, who had usurped the throne and her brave loyal knight.

The character of the knight was an anti-hero who was finally defeated in the end, but he always fought heroically despite it all. Seifer often pictured himself as the knight, but always thought, _ If that were me, I wouldn't have lost. _

He didn't know why he was so drawn to the film and couldn't have explained what it meant to him if he were asked. Seifer just knew it touched something deep inside of him.

"Seifer, why do we have to watch this again? I've seen it a dozen times." Brianna's voice cut through his concentration like an angry buzz saw.

"Shhh!" Seifer replied.

"Shush yourself, I wanna make out," Brianna responded, while unsubtly falling sideways almost into his lap.

"We'll make out during the second feature," he answered her.

"I wanna now," she whined and flung herself at his mouth. Seifer kissed her once while never taking his eyes from the huge screen and then he slightly pushed her from him.

"Seifer, at least look at me when you kiss me."

Seifer finally moved his gaze from the screen to Brianna. One look told her he was furious. "Right after this movie, I'll screw your little brains out, but for now - shut up!"

"How rude!" she exclaimed, while moving to the window on her side of the car.

_There's no doubt about it. I have to get a smarter girlfriend, _ Seifer thought.

……….

Rinoa sat depressed out in the senior courtyard early Monday morning. Not only had she been seduced - by a young woman, but she also discovered later through finally talking with Fujin that, not only Seifer didn't know her, it had been reported to her by Raijin that Seifer didn't even like Fujin.

_I did all that for nothing and if Fujin tells anyone about our 'date,' I'll be even more of a laughingstock then I already am._

Rinoa was surprised when she observed Squall exit from the school. _ What's he doing out here? It's only first period and no one comes out here this early, plus I hardly ever see him out here anyway. _

Almost as if he could feel Rinoa thinking about him, Squall turned his head and stared right at her. _ Oh what's he want? See something green? _ Rinoa thought sarcastically. _ Oh no! He's coming over here! _

Approaching her, Squall asked, "You gotta a minute?"

"Whatever," Rinoa answered. _ Now where did that come from? _

"Mind if I sit down?" the young man inquired.

"It's a free country."

Squall seated himself beside her on the stone bench. "You know, you're not fooling anybody," Squall began.

"I beg your pardon," Rinoa replied archly. "How am I supposed to be attempting to fool people?"

"By hiding out here all day, everyone knows about it and they're all laughing behind your back…even your close friends."

Rinoa turned bright red and sat stunned for a matter of seconds. Finally she spoke, "Whether or not that is true remains to be seen, but I don't see where it is any concern of yours."

"Okay, you're right," Squall acquiesced. "I just thought you should know," he added, while standing up from the bench.

Rinoa began to have tears run down her face.

"Everybody really knows?" she asked sorrowfully.

"Yeah."

"Even my close friends?"

"Yeah, they laugh about it all the time," Squall answered softly.

Rinoa began to quietly sob. "Hey, hey, you're okay," Squall said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You're strong enough to get through this."

_Strong? _ she thought. _ Don't make me laugh. _ Rinoa was finally able to slow her crying enough to speak, "Strong? How am I strong?"

"You finished four years of high school in three years, and that was on the college bound track. You should already be in your first year of college right now, away from all these morons," Squall replied.

_He's right, _ Rinoa admitted only to herself.

And you know why you're still here," Squall continued. "Because of that jerk Seifer."

"Seifer is not a jerk!" Rinoa retorted angrily.

"Of course he is," Squall answered calmly. "What else do you call a person who does not see how great a person you really are?"

Rinoa flushed again, only this time from his compliment. No one every paid her compliments. She looked at him for the first time through different eyes. Rinoa had always dismissed him before as a uncommunicative goth. _ He really is quite handsome, _ she thought, _ even with that horrible scar on his face. _

"Who are you really?" Rinoa finally asked.

"Huh?"

"That's a joke, Squall."

"Oh, sorry, I don't do jokes," he answered solemnly.

"If I don't hide out here all day, what would I do?" Rinoa asked plaintively.

"You go to the office and get a copy of your transcripts and take it to Balamb Junior College. Even though the semester has already started, they'll accept you and let you make up the extra work. I know because I checked. Next year you can transfer to Garden University."

A glorious smile crossed Rinoa's beautiful features. No one had ever done anything for her unless they were being paid to. "Thank you so much," she gushed, while standing up.

Taking his hand in hers, Rinoa asked, "Walk me to the office?"

"Sure."

From that moment on Rinoa and Squall were the number one item among the Balamb High gossips.

……….

Selphie sat in her first class, which was New Jersey state history. Her teacher droned on and on concerning the importance of the state occasionally interrupting Selphie's reverie of her date with Irvine.

After she had experienced the most sensational love making of her life, Irvine had proceeded to dig up his buried stash of weapons. They were carefully contained in a duffel bag.

She watched in glee as he broke down each weapon and cleaned it explaining to her all the while what it was and how it worked. After he had finished, he carefully packed them all away back in the duffel bag and reburied it, making sure to place leaves over the freshly packed earth.

They both donned their apparel and Selphie asked, "What should we do now?"

Irvine answered tentatively, "Well, I do have a lot more guns that need to be cleaned back in my room."

"What are we waiting for?" Selphie laughed and offered a big wink.

……….

Cid and Edea sat eating lunch crammed together at their tiny table in the employee's lunchroom. They were sitting side by side rather than across the table from each other.

"You know people are talking about us?" Edea broached.

"Does that bother you?"

"Why no, of course not, but I just thought you might be because you're principal," the counselor answered.

"People will always talk about somebody who is happier then them. I'm just glad this time that it's me."

Edea smiled at him and quietly kissed his cheek.

……….

Zell and Nick, Zell's second-in-command, stood talking in the hallway in the early afternoon, as the after lunch crowd of students pressed by.

"You know we've got Shumi Village this weekend, right?" Nick asked.

"Yeah," Zell answered distractedly.

"What's wrong?" Nick questioned.

"Well, um…I might have to miss the rumble," Zell stammered.

"What?!" Nick exclaimed, obviously highly upset.

"Don't get your tail feathers all tied up in a knot," his leader cautioned, "besides the gang can handle it easy with you in charge. I've always said you would be a great leader if anything ever happened to me."

His friend and cohort appeared to rise up in height from receiving such a compliment from his hero.

"But still, why can't you make it?"

"Oh, it's my mother. She's roped me into some kind of a stupid blind date with one of her friend's daughter. I can't get out of it."

Zell flushed uncomfortably. He hated lying to one of his friends.

"Well, it can't be helped, we'll just have to do our best without you."

"Sure, you will," Zell affirmed, while patting his friend on the shoulder. _ Hot damn! Now I can spend the entire weekend with Kristine. _


	6. Chapter Six

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

The Highwayman  Copyright Jim Webb

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Six

_A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado  
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below  
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound  
But I am still around._

It all goes round and round and round and round and round and round.

I'll fly a starship  
Across the universe divide And when I reach the other side  
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.

The Highwayman  
All rights reserved Jimmy Webb

On Friday night, the Balamb High football team defeated the team from the school of Shumi Village by the score of 70 to 0. Seifer ran wild on the field as usual, but for once in his life he couldn't concentrate fully due to his feeling distracted by something he couldn't even identify. All through the game he had kept glancing around the stands, as though searching for someone as the crowd wildly cheered him on.

Often in the huddle he would discover Raijin staring at him as if he were shocked, but Seifer had declined to ask him what the matter was. At that point he simply didn't care. All he could think about was getting the damn game finished.

……….

Much later that evening, Zell's gang wiped the harsh pavements of Balamb's streets with the gang from Shumi Village. In fact, it wasn't even fair as there appeared to be something bad in the water in that town, because their gang had substantially less members than the gangs from the surrounding areas. They always had difficulty in recruiting members, being as Shumi Village was such a placatory environment.

……….

Quistis hadn't been home from school for more than a few minutes on Monday afternoon, when she heard someone knocking on her front door. Hurrying to the door, she was confused as to who it could be, but also was irritated since it was taking her away from her valuable study time.

When Quistis answered the door and observed Selphie standing at her doorstep, she was completely flabbergasted. No one from Balamb High had ever visited her, nor had anyone ever been invited to.

"Hi ya Quisty, what's up?" Selphie greeted cheerfully.

This too shocked the young strawberry-blonde woman. No one had ever dared to call her that. _ Then why does it seem so familiar? _

"Uh…nothing," Quistis finally answered.

"Well, aren't you gonna ask me in?" Selphie pouted.

_Not really. _ "Uh, sure, come on in," Quistis half heartedly invited.

After Selphie entered the house and closed the door behind her, she and Quistis stood staring at each other for several seconds. Finally Selphie spoke, "Can't we sit down somewhere?"

"Sure," Quistis answered while thinking, _ What does she want, for God's sake? _ "I guess, come on up to my room."

Quistis led Selphie back up the staircase and into her small bedroom. Selphie glanced around at the room's spartan appearance and thought sarcastically, _ Now why doesn't this surprise me? _

There was simply a bed, a closet, a chest of drawers, and a desk and chair. Nothing adorned the walls or stamped the room with someone's personality. It held all the charm of a completely empty jail cell.

Selphie crossed the small room and flopped down on the bed, much to Quistis' chagrin.

"Selphie, please don't take this the wrong way, but pull your dress down."

"Oh sorry," Selphie said with a smile, while adjusting her attire.

Quistis sat in her chair by her desk and waited patiently. Sensing Selphie was hesitant to begin whatever had brought her here, Quistis asked, "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah," admitted Selphie. "Why did you stand me up at the football game?"

Quistis was initially completely at a loss, as to what Selphie was talking about, but then remembered vaguely that Selphie had been speaking about the football game when Quistis had been attempting to study during lunch.

"I'm sorry, I never expected to go to the game at all," the strawberry-blonde young woman answered. "There must have been a lack of communication somewhere."

Selphie emitted a big sigh and shook her pretty head. "What do you want out of life, Quisty?"

_Quisty again! _ "I fully expect to obtain, at least, an M.A. at Garden University, if not my Doctorate and then I want to move to New York City and get a great job, perhaps in publishing or computers."

"And then what will happen?" Selphie persisted.

Quistis answered, completely confused by this question, "Then I'll be a success."

"Will you be happy?" Selphie further questioned.

"Happy? I suppose so, I've never really thought about it."

"Why will you be happy?"

Selphie was beginning to get on Quistis' nerves, and she responded, "What do you want, Selphie?"

"Do you have any friends?"

Quistis was taken aback and was about to reply that of course she had friends, but then realized that simply wasn't true. _ What about Squall? _ Quistis flushed wondering where that absurd thought had come from.

Tears began to form in the corner of the eyes of the beautiful young woman and Quistis shook her head as if to clear it. "No," she said simply. "I have no friends."

……….

Seifer and Raijin stood in the shower room beneath the running water, washing off after their strenuous football practice.

"What'd you do this weekend?" Raijin asked.

"Well, I dumped that little witch," answered Seifer.

"Who? You mean Brianna, ya know?" inquired Seifer's large friend.

"Well, I'm certainly not talking about Rinoa, she's a sorceress."

"A sorceress? What the hell ya talking about, Seifer, ya know?" Raijin exclaimed.

_What the hell am I saying? _ Seifer wondered.

"I don't know, Rage. Don't pay any attention to me," Seifer answered wearily.

Raijin asked worriedly, "Are you okay, Seifer? You've been acting weird lately, ya know."

"I'm just tired. Come on, let's get dressed."

A few moments later Seifer and Raijin were completely dressed and Seifer reached into his locker and pulled out his long gray coat. He slipped it on, but left it hanging open.

Raijin, wearing a puzzled expression, asked, "When did ya start wearing that, ya know?"

"Today," was Seifer's answer. "It was weird, but I just felt like I was supposed to wear it."

As Seifer turned and began walking from the locker room, his friend asked, "Seifer, where ya going? Wanna go to 'Balamb Burger', ya know?"

Seifer didn't even turn around to answer his best friend, but just continued to walk away. "Nah, I think I'll go home."

Watching his mentor and friend leave the locker room, Raijin thought worriedly, _ What's up with him? _

……….

Zell and Kristine were walking home after school. Zell's mother forbade him to use his car to travel back and forth to school. She was attempting to discourage him from skipping school, even though Zell realized he still could cut if he wanted to. He never would, because it would disappoint his mother too much and up until he had met Kristine, his mother was the only person he cared about pleasing.

"I've been thinking about quitting my gang," Zell spoke.

"Oh," Kristine replied noncommittally, although inside her emotions were doing backflips. She knew instinctively to not over react, but allow it to be Zell's decision. It wouldn't count otherwise.

"Yeah," the blond haired man reaffirmed. "What'd you think?"

"It's up to you."

"Well, maybe I will," Zell murmured.

_Good, _ Kristine thought, holding her secret smile inside.

……….

"So anyway, you never told me, how'd your date go, ya know?" Raijin asked Fujin.

They were both sitting in a booth at 'Balamb Burger' eating a late afternoon snack. Raijin had three double 'Balamb Burgers' sitting in front of him and a order of large fries. Fuijin was sipping a diet 'Balamb Cola.'

"Scored," Fujin grinned.

"Alright! Serves her right, ya know."

Fujin appeared sad for the moment and shook her head softly. "No."

"No!? Why, ya know?"

"Sweet," Fujin replied.

"Rinoa's sweet?" Raijin couldn't keep the amazement from his voice.

Fujin nodded her head emphatically. "Yeah."

"I'll be damned, ya know," Raijin replied.

"Probably."

"Har har," Raijin laughed. "Very funny."

Fujin smiled at him and winked.

……….

An hour after school had let out, Cid was driving away in his old Toyota with Edea sitting as close to him as possible in the front seat. She noticed he suddenly began smiling for no apparent reason.

"What's so funny?" the dark-haired woman asked.

"Oh, I was just thinking, it's been a long time since I've had a girlfriend."

Edea laughed and asked, "Is that what I am - your girlfriend?"

Cid replied, "Play your cards right, you could move up in status to fiancée."

Edea laughed again and asked playfully, thinking he was joking, "Oh, is that a proposal?"

"Yes," Cid answered seriously.

Edea was nonplussed for a few seconds and then spoke slowly. "Isn't this rather fast?"

"No, I don't think so. I feel as though I've known you all my life. In fact, I'm not normally a mystical person, but I feel as though I knew you long ago."

Sounding completely stunned, Edea said in her low throaty voice, "You think we're connected from the past?"

Cid sat blushing realizing how ridiculous he must have sounded to her. "Yes," he admitted nonetheless.

"Me too, I've been feeling that ever since we met," Edea responded.

Currently sitting at a red traffic signal, Cid gazed upon his newfound 'lost' love and then leaned over to her and they kissed passionately for a moment. An angry motorist's car horn broke the kiss and Cid drove away from the intersection.

"Was that a yes?" Cid inquired nervously.

"Uh huh," Edea answered dreamily.

Cid cleared his throat several times in an effort to regain his voice and then he asked, "Do you wanna go grab a bite as a celebration?"

"Sure," Edea agreed and then she bent over and gave Cid's shoulder a quick bite.

"Hey! Oh yeah, your quirky sense of humor, I keep forgetting," Cid smiled.

"Cid, are we dressed appropriately for this place?" Edea asked concerned, as Cid pulled into the parking lot of 'The Hamptons,' one of the more fashionable restaurants in Balamb.

"Well, we're not exactly dressed in rags, so the hell with them if they can't take a joke."

"Ha ha," the dark-haired beautiful woman laughed. "I like your attitude."

Cid finished parking the car and then he looked at Edea. "After all, how many nights do you expect to be celebrating your engagement to be married?"

"No more after this one."

Edea was relieved when she and Cid entered the restaurant and the maitre d' didn't look at them in askance in any manner and appeared most gracious. After they were seated and the wine steward appeared, Cid asked, "Would you care for some wine?"

Edea smiled impishly and replied, "You hoping to get me drunk and have your way with me?"

The wine waiter offered a low laugh and Cid blushed, but answered, "Sure."

"Okay then, see that you do."

Cid ordered a carafe of Chablis and after the waiter had left, he leaned slightly forward in order to keep their conversation private. "After we get married, what do you think about us starting a private school?"

"Oh Cid, that's a wonderful idea, but do you have enough money?"

"I have a willing backer from Shumi Village," Cid explained. "But I want this to be more than just another prep school. I want people, who can afford it, to support orphans to enter. I also have plans to make it quasi-military, where martial arts are taught."

"It sounds like you've done a lot of thinking on this," Edea commented.

"Yes, I have, but it would take both of us to run it."

"It's not every day that a person gets a proposal of marriage and an offer of a new job," Edea smiled. "But I'll accept both."

Cid breathed a huge sigh of relief and hoisted up his glass in toast. Edea clinked it with her's and Cid declared, "Here's to us."

……….

After Selphie had taken down Quistis' hair from the bun she always wore it in with her friend's half-hearted permission, she proceeded to brush out the pretty strawberry-blonde hair. When Selphie had finished, Quistis' hair hung beautifully down and around her shoulders.

"I don't know why you insist on wearing your hair up," Selphie commented. "It's so beautiful."

Quistis flushed, not being used to receiving compliments for her physical appearance and didn't know how to respond. Selphie reached out and took Quistis' glasses carefully from her face. Quistis pulled her head back quickly from Selphie's touch, but didn't protest.

"Why do you wear these? Do you need them to see?" Selphie asked.

"Just to read small print," Quistis answered softly.

"Then why do you wear them all the time?"

"I don't know," Quistis admitted. "It's just easier I guess."

But Quistis did know. _ I wear them to keep boys away. I don't have time for that nonsense. I have to work hard, I have to study, I'm not allowed to have fun. _

Quistis was stunned at her last thought. Selphie remained quiet recognizing her friend was presently lost in some inner turmoil. _ Why can't I have fun? Am I being punished? Am I punishing myself - what for? I don't need to study all the time. I've almost completed a half of year's work already. Why do I keep doing it? - because I find it easier, that's why. I don't know how to be a friend to anyone. _

Selphie stood up from the bed, crossed the room to Quistis's closet and pulled it open. "What are you doing?" Quistis asked in some alarm.

"Looking for something better for you to wear. Why do you dress the way you do? What is that you're wearing - some kind of sack dress?"

Quistis blushed but fired back, "What concern is it of yours?"

"I'm your friend and to be quite blunt - that thing looks hideous on you. It hides your entire figure."

_Good, _ Quistis thought. _ Good? Why did I think that? _

"What's this?" Selphie suddenly inquired.

She proceeded to pull out an outfit consisting of a long brownish-orange skirt and mid-riff blouse that fastened with a zipper. Quistis felt faint as a wave of weakness passed through her.

_What is that? Where did that outfit come from?" _ Quistis suddenly thought.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I've never seen it before."

"You don't know?"

Selphie looked at her strangely. Removing the outfit from the hanger, Selphie held it out. "Oooh! Look at this, this is awesome. Here, try it on."

Selphie lay the outfit momentarily on the bed and before Quistis could protest, the quick young woman stepped behind Quistis, pulled the long zipper down on the back of her dress and allowed it to fall to the floor. Quistis blushed even more to suddenly be standing in front of another person in only her underwear.

Selphie looked on in shock at Quistis's under apparel. "What in the world are you wearing - some sort of industrial strength bra and panties?" she asked sarcastically. "We need to go shopping and get you some frillies."

Quistis fought the temptation to hide her underclothing with her hands realizing it would only cause her to appear more foolish in Selphie's eyes.

"Whatever for?" she questioned sharply. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Because men like sexy, not industrial."

That statement certainly nonplussed Quistis and it gave Selphie the opportunity to retrieve the outfit from the bed.

"Here, put this on," Selphie directed, handing the top to her friend.

Holding the long skirt down by Quistis' feet, Selphie instructed her to step into it. Selphie pulled it up around her friend's waist and then fastened the zipper. Now that Quistis had donned the blouse, Selphie stepped back.

"You look great!" she exclaimed, "But it's missing something."

_What in the world is going on here? Why does this seem so right? I've never even seen this before, _ Quistis thought, thoroughly confused.

Selphie returned her attention to her friends' closet. "Oooh, what's this?"

Selphie stood up with two brown sleeves and a pair of brown boots.

"Oh, these will go great with that. Put 'em on."

Once Quistis had complied with her friend's orders, Selphie spoke, "Go look in the mirror. You look awesome!"

Quistis felt as though she had lost control of her body and was being ordered around as if she were just a robot. She looked in the mirror and again felt faint. _ Who am I? _


	7. Chapter Seven

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Seven

_Yes there are two paths you can go by,  
But in the long run  
There's still time to change the road you're on. _  
Led Zeppelin

On the following day, Seifer slouched from his economics class in which he paid absolutely no attention, as he was preoccupied with staring at some new girl. She had long strawberry-blonde hair, was wearing in Seifer's opinion a very sharp outfit and was obviously intelligent, as she spent the entire class with her head buried taking notes.

Seifer couldn't understand why she hadn't been introduced to the class as new students always were, but he was determined to make her acquaintance. He waited patiently in the hall by the door, as almost the entire class vacated. He peered around the corner and saw the new student was intensely engaged with speaking with the economics teacher.

_Probably telling her about the course, but I wish they'd hurry up. _

Finally the young woman left the classroom and Seifer stepped in front of her causing Quistis to start in sudden fear.

"Hi, my name is Seifer Almasy."

Quistis stared in confusion. She had known who Seifer was for the entire three plus years they had attended Balamb High together. When she continued to stand rooted in silence, Seifer finally spoke, "And you are?"

_What's his game? Has to be some way to humiliate me knowing him. Where did he get that long coat from? I've never noticed him wear that before and why is it so familiar anyway? _

"I don't know what you're doing, Seifer. I suppose you think it's some kind of big joke on me, so I'll play along. I'm Quistis Trepe."

Now it was Seifer's turn to stand in rooted silence, as he actually began to blush for the first time in Balamb High history. When Quistis observed this, she began to understand she might have misjudged him. _ Maybe Selphie was right, perish the thought. Maybe I do look completely different. _

"You're Quistis?" Seifer spoke, the amazement obvious in his voice. "You look so different."

"Well…uh, I kind of had a make over."

Seifer smiled, certainly not a common occurrence unless he was busy running up the score on some chumps on the football field. "I'll say, you look great," he complimented the young woman.

Quistis blushed and then replied, "Well, I need to get to my next class."

"I'll see you at lunch," Seifer promised.

"Uh, ok," Quistis responded and she turned and began to walk briskly up the hall. She felt as though she could feel his eyes burning into her back and Quistis slightly turned her head and observed Seifer still standing there smiling at her. _ Oh, this is getting too strange, _ she thought.

Seifer and Quistis did eat their lunch together that day causing more than a little consternation and shock among the other inhabitants of the cafeteria. Brianna, in particular, had to be wisely held back by her friends to prevent her from marching over and creating a scene.

It appeared the couple was engaged in intense conversation throughout their meal and never noticed the effect they were having on the other diners in the large room. It was almost completely silent, as students strained to catch even a word from their conversation.

After consuming their 'mystery meat' and library paste mashed potatoes, Seifer and Quistis returned their dirty dishes and trays to the kitchen staff. They turned and left the cafeteria. As soon as Seifer and Quistis had taken their leave, the cafeteria exploded in noise as everyone began conversing about what they had just witnessed. By late afternoon, the Seifer and Quistis gossip pushed Rinoa and Squall completely off the rumour mill.

……….

Just before lunch period, Squall waited by the front door for Rinoa's arrival. They had made plans to eat lunch together on the school campus. When he first espied her walking up the front walk, he couldn't believe his eyes.

Rinoa was dressed all in slinky black latex from her shoulders to the top of her black shoes. _ God, she looks kinky - and hot! _

After being waved through the metal detector by one of the Balamb Police assigned to the high school, Rinoa walked up to Squall and asked, while giving her body a complete twirl, "Well, what do you think?" she asked.

Squall finally answered, "Frankly I'm stunned."

Rinoa's pretty face took on a petulant expression. "Well, I like that. Is it a good stunned or bad one?"

"Oh, definitely good," Squall answered with a smile. "And it's definitely gothy, but - oh, never mind. It looks good."

"No, what?" Rinoa persisted.

Squall had been going to suggest that it might have been a little too tight, as indeed it was. The black latex hugged every curve and nuance of her body and it was obvious she wasn't wearing much in the way of clothing beneath it. Even though he was embarrassed by it, Squall instinctively realized he would crush her feelings if he spoke the truth.

"Uh…uh," he stammered. "I was just gonna say that everyone will sure be surprised."

"Yes, they will," Rinoa spoke with a huge smile. "Shall we repair to our midday repast?" she asked, while taking his hand in hers.

"No reason not to," Squall answered dryly. _ Yes, there is, _ he thought. _ This might turn brutal in there. _

Luckily for all concerned, particularly Rinoa, Squall was mistaken in his pessimism. Although most of the conversations died as the couple walked in and there were some assorted wolf whistles and 'Alright mamas' shouted out, only Squall felt embarrassed. Rinoa appeared happy with the reaction. Squall had underestimated how many students considered him second only to Seifer in terms of people you shouldn't make angry.

After waiting patiently in the long line, Squall and Rinoa received their lunches on their trays and sat at a table by themselves. He could see people, particularly male students, sneaking peeks at Rinoa throughout their meal, but nothing worse than that.

"So how'd it go this morning?" Squall asked.

"Oh, great," Rinoa replied with a smile. "Just like you said, they accepted me right away. I have my first classes this afternoon. But Great Hyne! You should see the prices of the textbooks, they are unbelievably expensive."

"What did you just say?" Squall asked slowly.

"I said the textbooks are really expensive."

"No, I mean that 'Great Hyne' thing," Squall explained.

"Oh, did I say that?" Rinoa laughed. "I meant Great God."

"Well, what is it?" Squall naturally wanted to know.

"What? The Great Hyne? I'm not sure, I was online looking at comparative religions and ran across some weird sorceress religion based on a First Mover called the Great Hyne."

_Sorceress?! _ Squall thought, a cold wave rushing through him. He suddenly remembered that in his vision there had been a dark-haired woman in a long black outfit, who appeared to shoot a huge blade of ice straight at him.

"But the weird thing was," Rinoa continued, "I bookmarked it, but when I went back, it was gone."

The hairs on the back of Squall's neck stood straight up.

……….

Seifer and Raijin were getting dressed in their street clothes following their post practice shower. As Seifer quickly hurried with donning his normal apparel, Raijin glanced at him with some apprehension in his eyes. He had heard a nasty rumour in the afternoon and, while he couldn't believe what he had heard was possibly true, he felt as though he needed to make Seifer aware of it and wasn't looking forward to invoking his friend's ire.

_What's his rush? _ Raijin wondered. "Hey Seifer," Raijin finally spoke as he watched Seifer pull his long coat on and realized he would be leaving in a minute.

"What?"

"Uh…I was wondering…ya know," Raijin stammered.

"Snap it up, Rage. I'm in a hurry here."

"Uh…I heard you and Quistis had something going, that ain't true, is it, ya know?" Raijin finally managed to say.

"Haha!" Seifer guffawed relieving Raijin no end. So his friend's next words hit him like a bombshell. "Yeah, it's true."

_Oh my Gawd. _ "Seifer, what are thinking? Going with that geek, ya know," Raijin blurted out in shock without considering the consequences of his words. He realized instantly that he had made a serious mistake, as Seifer gazed at him with his fiercest expression.

"Since you're my best friend, I'm gonna cut you some slack because of temporary insanity, but don't push it," Seifer snarled at his now heavily perspiring friend. "Hurry up and finish dressing and I'll take you out to meet the 'geek.' She's waiting for me out in front."

Without a word, Raijin did as Seifer had ordered and they were soon walking toward the front door of the school. As he approached the outside with Seifer, Raijin was surprised to observe a beautiful young woman standing outside the door. She had long blonde hair and was fashionably attired, but he was confused as he didn't see Quistis anywhere.

Pushing the door open, Seifer and Raijin stepped out on the front sidewalk. Quistis turned and smiled at Seifer. "How'd practice go?" she asked.

"Smooth as silk," he grinned.

Raijin was thoroughly confused. He didn't know if he was more surprised to see Seifer smiling or at who he was speaking to. Finally unable to stop himself, Raijin blurted out, "Who's this? I thought we were meeting Quistis, ya know?"

Quistis giggled and Seifer explained quietly, "Rage, this is Quistis."

"Wha!?"

……….

Zell stood waiting outside Kristine's front door the next morning waiting to accompany her to school. When his pretty girlfriend opened the door, she was astonished to observe Zell's outfit. He was wearing a red and blue mixed t-shirt and long baggy blue shorts and holding his extra large skateboard by his side.

Kristine offered him a big smile and bade him good morning. _ What in the world? I guess he was serious about quitting his gang. _ "So what's up with the new outfit?" she asked cheerfully.

Zell flushed and asked, "Do I look okay? I found it in my closet this morning. I don't know where it came from."

"You never saw them before?" Kristine asked puzzled.

"No, maybe Ma bought them for me. You ready to go?" Zell asked, setting the skateboard down in front of her.

"On that thing? I don't think so."

"Come on, it's be fine. I'll help you," Zell explained.

Taking Kristine by the hand and steadying the skateboard with one foot, Zell helped her onto it. He stepped up behind her and placed his hands on her hips. Pushing off with his foot several times, he stepped up himself all the way on the board and away they rode down the sidewalk, Kristine laughing hysterically all the way.

Just as Zell had promised, they made it safely all the way to Balamb High. Braking to a stand still in front of the school, Zell hopped off and then help Kristine step down safely.

"Oh, that was great!" she exclaimed.

"See, I told you," Zell gloated.

"Why do you have this?"? Kristine asked, reaching up to touch the tattoo that ran up one side of Zell's face. At her soft touch, an electric shock seemed to flow through Zell and he flinched.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, that's okay, it just seemed to shock me for a moment. I've always had it, that's all I can say. My family never said anything about it, so I assumed it was some kind of crazy birthmark. Why? Does it bother you?"

"No, not at all," Kristine protested, embarrassed now that she had brought it up. "So it's kind of like Harry Potter?" she commented, hoping to lighten the situation.

Zell laughed. "Yeah, I guess, I never thought of it like that. I wonder who I killed to get it?"

"Shall we go in?" his pretty girlfriend asked.

"Your wish is my command."

……….

Squall stood waiting for Rinoa's arrival at the high school to eat lunch with him with more then a little trepidation. He was hoping she would not be dressed as she had been on the previous day, not because of possible further embarrassment to either one of them; but because he was not appareled in his normal outfit of all black clothing.

For the first time for as long as he could remember, Squall was not dressed as a Goth. Early that morning when Squall pulled his closet open, he was amazed to observe an outfit he had never seen hanging next to the mysterious coat that had magically appeared there in the weeks previously.

Even more astounding to him, Squall had felt drawn, almost as if he were being controlled by an outside source, to dress in the strange clothing. Looking at his image in his bedroom, Squall suddenly realized that he felt completely at ease for the first time in his life.

Consequently he was surprised, but grateful when he observed Rinoa striding up the front sidewalk of the school dressed completely different than on the previous day. She was wearing a black top, an extremely short blue skirt, which didn't begin to cover her thigh high black shorts. Rinoa's last piece of apparel Squall saw to his amazement was some sort of a long blue duster. Women's fashions had always confused him.

Rinoa stepped through the metal detector and then stood patiently as the on duty Balamb policeman waved his electronic hand-wand up and down her body carefully. He then waved her through.

"Squall, what are you wearing?!"

"I could ask the same of you. I found this in my closet this morning and I know this'll sound crazy, but I felt compelled to wear them."

"Oh, that is so weird," Rinoa responded.

"Yeah, I guess."

"No, you don't understand. The same thing happened to me!" Rinoa exclaimed.

_What the hell is going on? _ Squall wondered.

……….

It was lunch time at Balamb High School. The student population was too large and the cafeteria too small to allow all of them to eat at the same time. Therefore there were three shifts. The first shift was now eating.

Seifer and Quistis sat side by side, eating and talking quietly. A few tables away Raijin and Fujin were eating lunch together. Glancing at Quistis, Raijin said, "Ya know, I don't see what he sees in her, ya know?"

Fujin replied, "Jealous."

"Jealous?! You mean me, ya know?!"

"Yep."

"Well, ya know, I do miss him," Raijin admitted.

Fujin smiled and pointed at herself while answering, "Me!"

"Hehe, I get ya, ya know, thanks."

Fujin smiled and nodded.

Seifer and Quistis finished their lunch and stood up from the table. Brianna had been keeping a close eye on them from her seat across the room. She had been complaining to her friends the entire lunch hour about Quistis and making less then veiled threats against her.

Brianna suddenly stood up and vowed, "I'm going to settle this once and for all. That slut isn't gonna steal Seifer from me."

The young blonde woman was convinced that Quistis had agreed to have sex with Seifer. That was the only reason that she could imagine why Seifer would have chosen the class drudge over her.

Just as Seifer had lifted up both lunch trays to return them, Brianna reached Quistis on the dead run. She had decided to just attack without warning and not waste time with the usual prefight rhetoric.

Seifer looked up just in time to observe his old girlfriend launch a slap with her right hand toward the face of his new girlfriend. Holding the trays full of dishes, he was utterly helpless in facilitating any action to protect Quistis.

Not believing his own eyes, Seifer quickly realized Quistis needed no such protection. She easily blocked Brianna's slap by pushing it away with her left hand, while simultaneously offering a backhanded right, which knocked Brianna back several feet and then onto the floor.

Everyone in the cafeteria except for Brianna's friends burst into applause, although both Seifer and Quistis stood stunned.

_I wasn't even thinking, it was all reflex and instinct as if I'd been trained, _ Quistis thought, as she was still shaking from the adrenaline that was surging through her body.

_Whoa! _ Seifer thought. _ There's more to this chick than meets the eye. _

One of the on-duty lunchroom teachers, a burly black man named Mr. Barret rushed to the side of Brianna. "Are you okay?" he asked the stunned Brianna.

Rubbing her hand over her mouth, Brianna decided she didn't feel any permanent damage. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good," Mr. Barret responded, while pulling the young blonde to her feet easily by the arm. "Then let's go talk to Principal Cramer about this."

"No, no," Brianna protested, attempting to wrest herself from the teacher's grasp.

"Oh yes, fighting is a very serious offense. You'll be fortunate if you only get suspended for a few days instead of expelled."

"Oh no!" Brianna began to cry. "What about her?" she suddenly asked pointing at Quistis, who stood wearing 'a deer in the headlights' look.

"You started it, she was only defending herself," the teacher explained, proving that justice does prevail once in a great while. "Now come on," he directed, while leading the now sobbing student from the cafeteria.

"Did ya see that?" Raijin asked.

When Fujin nodded, he continued, "Where did she go to learn those kind of moves, ya know?"

Fujin shrugged her shoulders and winked.

_This chick knows more than she's letting on, ya know, _ Raijin thought.

……….

Cid was speaking to Edea from across their small table in the employee's lunchroom. "So what did you want to speak with me about? Is this professional or personal?"

"Oh, professional of course, Principal Kramer," Edea replied with a wink. "I was talking to Rinoa just before I came to meet you."

"Who?" Cid interrupted.

"Oh, I'm certain you know her. She has long dark hair and looks like a young Shannon Doherty."

"Oh, I do know her, go ahead. Is something wrong?" Cid asked concerned.

"No, on the contrary, except for that fact that she actually had acquired enough credits to graduate last year and didn't."

"What? How can that be? Why is she still here?" Cid exclaimed.

"Apparently last year's counselor - how can I put this - wasn't very proficient in her job. And Rinoa came back this year because of her misplaced infatuation with Seifer."

"Ah, yes," Cid answered. He did suddenly vaguely remember observing Rinoa following Seifer around like a little puppy. "What is she going to do? She certainly can't spend the year here."

"She's already enrolled herself at Balamb Junior College and plans to transfer to Garden University in the fall."

"Oh, that's great, so what's the problem?" Cid wanted to know.

"She needs permission to come on campus during lunch time to eat lunch with Squall."

"Squall?" asked the principal. "That boy with the scar?"

"Yes," answered his fiancée.

Cid thought it over for a moment and then responded, "Ok, but I want you to talk to Squall first."

Edea smiled. "I was planning to."

……….

Seifer and Raijin were walking down the corridor towards the locker room. The last bell of the day signifying the end of school had rang five minutes earlier. Even though most of team had to be suited up and on the field in fifteen minutes after the final bell, Seifer and Raijin had no reason to hurry. Rank does have its privilege.

"Hey Seifer, your new girlfriend has some moves, ya know. Did you teach them to her?"

Seifer laughed and replied, "Hell no, I don't know how to do that. The weird thing is Quistis told me she doesn't know how she did it either."

"Wow, weird, ya know?" Raijin replied.

"Yeah." After waiting a time as if he was loath to speak, Seifer broached, "I was thinking of going to Garden University next year. What'd you think?"

"Garden University? I thought you wanted to go someplace warm like F.S.U, ya know."

Seifer flushed and retorted, "I changed my mind, is that alright with you? You don't have to go with me, if you don't want to."

"No, no." Raijin was quick to sooth his friend's anger.

"Sorry, Rage, I didn't mean to snap your head off," Seifer muttered.

"Don't worry about it, ya know?" _ Seifer apologizing? What's next? Running for class president? _


	8. Chapter Eight

Balamb High Forever

A Final Fantasy VIII Fan Fic

All rights to the characters and names of locations are owned by SquareSoft

The Highwayman  Copyright Jim Webb

Rated R for language and sexual content

By Toysaurus

Chapter Eight

_I was a highwayman  
Along the coach roads I did ride  
With sword and pistol by my side._

And many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade  
And many a soldier left his life blood on my blade.  
They finally hung me in the spring of '25  
But I am still alive.

I was a sailor  
And I was born upon the tide.  
And with the sea I did abide.

I sailed a schooner around the Horn of Mexico  
I went aloft to furl the main sail in a blow  
And when the yards blew off  
They say that I got killed  
But I am living still.

I was a dam builder  
Across the river deep and wide  
Where steel and water did collide

A place called Boulder on the wild Colorado  
I slipped and fell into the wet concrete below  
They buried me in that great tomb that knows no sound  
But I am still around.

It all goes round and round and round and round and round and round.

I'll fly a starship  
Across the universe divide  
And when I reach the other side  
I'll find a place to rest my spirit if I can.

Perhaps I may become a highway man  
Or I may simply be a single drop of rain.  
I will still remain  
I'll be back again.

The Highwayman  
All rights reserved Jimmy Webb

Quistis was sitting on a bench outside the front doors of Balamb High School. She was busy studying physics and writing notes from it into her small note book. Quistis was patiently waiting for football practice to end and Seifer to join her.

She heard people approaching her and ignored them, hoping they would take her unspoken hint and go on their way. As soon as Quistis observed a pair of brown boots, she realized she was out of luck.

Quistis raised her eyes up from the book and observed Selphie, as she had expected and also that strange long-haired young man, who always wore cowboy boots and hat, as if he were an old retro hero from a western movie. _ He really is quite good looking. Funny I never noticed that. _

"Quistis, I want you to meet Irvine," Selphie explained.

"Irvine? As in California?" Quistis asked wearing a grin.

"Is that a crack?" Irvine said, while smiling in return. Doffing his hat in a slight bow, Irvine replied, "So very pleased to meet you."

Before Quistis could respond, Selphie slapped Irvine in the shoulder. "Knock it off, Irvine. You're so corny." Turning to Quistis, she explained, "I swear he wasn't like this when I first met him. Then he was real sweet and shy, now he's trying to hit on every girl in school."

"Not every one," Irvine protested. "Just the cute ones."

"Whatever," muttered his new girlfriend.

"Pleased to meet you," Quistis finally managed to get a word in edgewise.

"Quisty, you waiting for Seifer?" Selphie asked.

"Uh huh."

"You think he'd be willing to double date this week with me and Irvy?"

"I don't know," Quistis answered sounding doubtful, "but I can ask him."

"Yeah, do that, it could be fun. Come on, Irvy. I wanna go to the mall," Selphie directed.

"Your wish is my command, my lovely," Irvine cooed.

"Whatever."

After Selphie and Irvine set off down the front walk, Quistis shook her head and thought, _ What a pair! _

She once again began intently studying her Physics text.

……….

As soon as Rinoa observed Squall waiting patiently for her to arrive for lunch the next day, she realized he appeared apprehensive. Sure enough, as soon as Rinoa enthusiastically greeted him, Squall only laconically answered, "Ready to go?"

She and Squall were expected in the school counselor's office as soon Rinoa arrived on campus. "Are you worried about this?" Rinoa asked him.

They began to walk down the hall towards Edea's office.

"Well, I'm not looking forward to it, that's for sure."

"Then like you told me, just stay close to me," Rinoa spoke with a smile.

"What did you say?!" Squall exclaimed surprised.

"I'm talking about when you told me to stay close to you," Rinoa replied sounding rather petulant.

"I don't remember telling you that."

"Oh, you never remember telling me that," Rinoa complained.

"When was this?" Squall questioned.

Rinoa suddenly realized she really couldn't remember when it had occurred, but she distinctly had a memory of Squall saying it to her when she had been badly frightened. _ What is going on with me? Why can't I remember? _

Beginning to feel weird about the entire episode, Rinoa murmured, "Never mind, Squall, it's not important. Let it go."

Squall was more than happy to follow Rinoa's advice, as the conversation had been beginning to give him a sharp headache. When they reached the school counselor's office, Rinoa knocked gently on the door.

"Come in," Edea amiably invited from within.

Rinoa opened the door and entered the room with Squall reluctantly following a few steps behind her. Edea stood up from behind her desk and greeted, "Hello, thanks for following through on your commitment. Please sit down."

As Rinoa did as directed and seated herself, Squall still remained standing in the doorway. His expression of pure fear and revulsion spoke for itself, as Squall stood petrified in fright as he got his first look at the new school counselor.

Rinoa finally realized Squall was not going to sit down and, when she turned around in her chair to see what the holdup was, a chill ran through her. She had never observed such a look of horror.

"Squall, what's the matter?!" she exclaimed, feeling completely panicked herself.

_It's the woman from my vision - the one dressed in the long black dress! _ For the barest second, Squall felt the actual ice shaft she had shot into him and almost fainted.

When Squall didn't respond to her, Rinoa jumped up and crossed the room quickly to him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and said, "Squall! What's the matter?"

As soon as he felt Rinoa's cool touch on him, Squall no longer observed anything, but the new school counselor. _ What is going on with me? Am I going crazy? _

"I'm okay," he finally murmured. "Sorry," he spoke to Edea.

Edea realized she too had felt some strong connection with the student. "It's ok, but please take a seat."

Rinoa and Squall seated themselves and Edea introduced herself to him.

"I've ask you to come talk to me today for the simple reason that usually students who no longer attend school here aren't allowed on campus," Edea explained. "Principal Cramer has agreed with me to make an exception for Rinoa, but only under specific conditions."

Rinoa breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "What are they?"

"There can be no undue display of public affection, for instance. Also you need to leave the premises directly after the lunch period and of course it goes without saying no fighting, cursing or conflicts in the lunch room. And you must follow any directions given to you by the teachers in the lunch room."

Rinoa offered the counselor her best manipulative smile and cooed, "Oh, but of course."

Edea wasn't fooled in the least by Rinoa's machinations, but she looked troubled at Squall. "Have we ever spoken before?" she asked him.

"No, I don't believe so," Squall answered slowly. _ She knows something about this. _

Edea stood up while saying, "Well, unless you have any questions, you can be excused to eat lunch."

Both Squall and Rinoa stood up with some alacrity and with Rinoa bidding Edea goodbye, they quickly made their escape. Edea stood and smiled at their antics. _ Kids! _ she thought, but the counselor still remained troubled by the weird vibrations she had felt in the room during the interview.

Out in the hall, Rinoa smiled at Squall and asked, "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Yeah, it was," Squall answered.

"Oh you!" Rinoa exclaimed, slapping at him playfully. Slipping her hand into his, she spoke, "Let's go eat lunch."

……….

The confrontation between Squall and Seifer that practically every student in the high school thought destined to occur never seemed to develop. It was true, though, that the two of them stepped around each other in the hallways very carefully whenever they passed, as though they were two lions trapped in the same small cage.

The situation grew ever worse whenever Rinoa was by Squall's side. Seifer would stroll by the couple with a smirk on his handsome face, obviously directed at Rinoa. Whenever Squall would observe the slight, he would tighten perceptually and would only not answer the obvious disrespect, because Rinoa would tighten her grip on his arm, warning him away from a situation that would cause her to be banned from the premises.

Later in the day as Squall was walking into the parking lot after school had let out, he was surprised to espy Rinoa waiting for him by the side of his motorcycle. She usually was in class at that hour.

"Hi," he greeted her, while walking up to her. "What are you doing here?"

Rinoa placed her hands on her hips in her familiar gesture and leaning her upper body slightly down, she exclaimed, "Well, I like that. Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Of course I am, just surprised. What are you doing - skipping class?"

"No, no," she rushed to assure him. "The class was cancelled due to lack of interest."

"Oh, ok," he replied phlegmatically.

"That was a joke, Squall."

"I already told you, I don't-"

"Do jokes," Rinoa interrupted with a laugh. "I keep hoping I would change you."

"You've already changed me a lot, isn't that enough?"

"I guess, shall we go?" Rinoa invited, anxious to be off the school property as quickly as possible.

Squall swung his leg over the big Harley and then sat down. Reaching out to help Rinoa mount behind him, he noticed a chain with two rings on it hanging around her neck.

"What's this?" he asked, while holding the two rings in the palm of his hand gently.

"My father gave them to me. One of them is my mother's wedding ring, the other one has a lion's face on it. It's inscribed with the name Griever.

_Griever! _ Squall thought, suddenly frightened.

"Squall, what's wrong?!"

Squall shook his head. "Oh, nothing, I just had a slight chill."

"I hope you're not coming down with something. I keep telling you that you should take better care of yourself."

"Yes, mom," Squall sarcastically retorted.

"Very funny," Rinoa retorted. "Speaking of which, how come you never mention your parents?"

"I've never known my parents," Squall answered softly.

"Oh my God, I never realized you were an orphan."

"I'm not a orphan, I mean I don't know who my parents are," Squall replied in a somewhat stronger voice.

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

Squall flushed and responded," Come on, just get on the bike and let's go."

……….

A short while later, Squall and Rinoa were settled in her bedroom. Rinoa was seated on her bed, while Squall was sprawled on one of the many comfortable upholstered chairs in Rinoa's large bedroom.

"Why don't you come over here and get more comfortable?" Rinoa flirted, while patting the bed beside her with her hand.

Squall blushed and mumbled, "I'm fine over here."

"Okay for you, you meanie."

Squall attempted to play it off with a smile, although it came out as more of a grimace. "Seriously Rinoa," Squall spoke haltingly, "I would love to, but the time isn't right."

"What are you talking about?" Rinoa asked bewildered.

"I can't explain it, it just feels to me that this isn't the right time and the right place."

That statement stopped the flow of conversation for the moment, and then Squall suddenly asked, "What's this I heard about Seifer giving you a hard time?"

"Oh darn, who told you?"

"Selphie, of course," Squall answered, attempting to smile to hide his angry feelings.

"That big mouth! It's nothing, Squall. Seifer complained to someone about me being on campus when I didn't go to school there anymore. Just forget it, he's just jealous."

"I'll forget it after I close his big mouth for him," Squall angrily vowed.

"Squall, Miss Arcane specifically said I would be allowed to come back to campus to visit only if there was no trouble. Now promise me you'll let it be."

"All I can say is Seifer had better stay out of my face," Squall replied.

Rinoa sighed and shook her head, but secretly was thrilled at Squall and Seifer fighting over her.

…………

Seifer and Raijin were dressing after taking their shower following the football practice. "So what was your double date like, ya know?" Raijin asked with a chortle.

"It wasn't that bad, not near as bad as I expected. Of course, they're dweebs, but that little messenger girl is pretty cute."

"Little messenger girl? What are you talking about Seifer, ya know?"

"Oh, you know the way she runs around the school talking to everybody about everything. I just call her the little messenger girl. Why?"

Raijin answered slowly, "I'm not sure, it just sounded so familiar all of the sudden, ya know."

"You probably heard me say it before."

"No, I don't think so." For once in his life, Raijin sounded thoughtful.

"Well, gotta run, Quistis is waiting for me," Seifer explained, while slipping on his long coat.

"Hey Seifer, when are ya gonna finally let me introduce ya to Fujin, ya know?"

Seifer blanched. "Rage, probably never. There's just something about her that bothers me. Whenever I just get around her, my mind kinda goes blank, or something. I can't explain it. It's like she knows too much somehow. Sorry, gotta go, talk to you later."

And Seifer was gone from the locker room.

_What the hell is he talking about, ya know?" _

……….

"Quisty, can I talk to you for a minute?" Selphie asked.

She slid on to the bench next to Quistis outside of the school's front doors, where she was waiting for Seifer to meet her after football practice on Friday afternoon. Quistis looked up from her Advanced Physics book, glad for an excuse to stop studying for a moment.

"Sure, but keep your voice down, there's a teacher attempting to eavesdrop right over there."

"Yeah," Selphie agreed. "That Mr. Valentine is a real spook, isn't he?"

At the mere mention of his name, they both glanced around until they ascertained that he hadn't heard them.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Quistis whispered in agreement. "Yes, he certainly is weird - always dressed in black and wearing that cloak. What do you want, anyway?"

"I want you to help me with the upcoming Homecoming Dance," Selphie explained. "Practically everyone on the committee has dropped out, except for Rinoa and I don't even know if they'll let her help anymore."

_Homecoming Dance? Yuck! _ Quistis thought. She was all set to turn Selphie down, but observing the look of concern and worry on her new friend's normally happy features, Quistis replied, with some trepidation, "Well…I guess so. What do I have to do and when is it?"

"When's the Homecoming Dance?! Good Grief! Don't you know anything?" Selphie asked sarcastically. "It's this weekend."

Quistis was tempted to respond that she may not have known when the dance was going to be held, but she could name off every known element in the universe. Assuming that reply would just fly right over Selphie's head without even slightly denting the young woman's consciousness, Quistis just murmured, "Sorry, it must have slipped my mind for the moment."

"Well, I _ guess," _ Selphie retorted. "Let's get with it, shall we?"

Hoping to shorten this interaction because Selphie was beginning to greatly irritate her as usual, Quistis asked, "Who are we playing, anyway?"

Selphie glanced at Quistis as if her friend had suddenly announced that she was from Mars. "Garden High school, of course. Our annual Homecoming game."

_Garden High School! _ Quistis thought. Even one as insulated as Quistis was from normal high school activities realized that Garden was Balamb High's biggest rival and therefore most important game of the entire season.

"Well, come on," Selphie spoke, the exasperation clearly presently in her voice as she yanked on Quistis' hand.

"Wait a minute!" Quistis responded panicked. "I'm supposed to meet Seifer. He won't know where I am."

"So go tell the rent-a-cop over there who you are and where you went. Seifer will surely ask him if he's seen you when he doesn't find you waiting," Selphie intoned matter of factly.

Quistis realized her friend wouldn't be thwarted at this point and timidly went over to the high school security officer and did as directly. Soon the two young women were walking down the hallway towards the open gymnasium.

The gym wouldn't normally be open this late unless one of the teams had practice there, but because of the upcoming Homecoming dance it was held open in order for the planning committee to meet.

Quistis was surprised and a little shocked when she walked into the large gym following behind Selphie and observed a number of people had already arrived before them. Among them were Rinoa, Kristine, Zell, and Squall.

_Squall's here! What in the world would Squall be doing here? _

Quistis was most shocked to see Fujin smiling at her from across the room. "Selphie, what am I doing here?" Quistis demanded. "You told me you had no help on the committee."

Selphie's pretty face took on a rueful expression. "I'm sorry I had to lie to get you to come, but she insisted you had to be here."

"Who insisted?"

"Why Fujin, of course."

"Fujin?!" Quistis replied, her voice full of wonder. From across the room, Fujin distinctly winked at her.

……….

"Come on Rage, hurry up or I'm going to leave you," Seifer exhorted his comrade. 

The tall blond was standing by his locker in the football dressing area completely dressed down to his, by now completely recognizably, long gray coat. Raijin was striving to quickly pull on his outer clothing.

"Alright, alright, ya know, I'm trying to be quick. What's your hurry, anyway, ya know?" 

"I want to spend some time with Quistis, before we're due back here. We only have a couple of hours."

"Man, you're really gone on this girl, aren't you, ya know?"

Seifer blushed and tapped his foot impatiently. "Let's just go and quit with the twenty questions."

"Okay, I'm ready, already, ya know."

The two young men strode quickly from the locker room and down the long hallway towards the front doors of the school.

"What are ya doing Seifer after you meet Quistis, ya know?"

"Oh, we'll probably go over to 'Balamb Burger' for a quick bite. I'll probably see you and Fujin over there."

"Naw, we ain't going over there. I'm supposed to meet Fujin in the gym. She's on the Homecoming Dance committee, ya know."

Seifer threw his head back in his traditional guffaw. "Haha! I can't believe it, Fujin on the dance committee? What's next? You and Squall becoming dance partners?"

Before Raijin could respond to such an absurd question, Seifer and Raijin had reached the front area of the school. Seifer glanced around, slightly bewildered at not observing Quistis waiting for him. He quickly hurried over to the police officer on duty and spoke to him.

As Seifer returned to his friend, Raijin asked, "So where's Quistis, ya know Seifer?"

"She's in the gym with all those dweebs working on the dance committee," he retorted angrily.

Even Raijin knew better than to comment at this particular time. Striding down the corridor doubletime, they soon came upon the open gym doors. Seifer couldn't believe his own eyes as he saw _ his _ Quistis helping to hang streamers from the ceiling from high atop a tall stepladder. It didn't help defuse his anger any, when he glanced around and observed, Selphie, Irvine, Fujin, Zell, Kristine, Rinoa and Squall also present.

"Quistis!" Seifer bellowed, bringing all activity to a standstill.

As everyone stood and stared at him in shocked silence, Quistis casually replied, "Oh hi, Seifer. I'll be done in a moment."

The lovely young woman in no way felt as calm as her voice indicated, but she was hoping to play off the situation before it got out of hand; although she soon discovered it was far too late for that. As soon as Squall had heard Seifer's booming angry voice, he began to clench and unclench his fists in an effort to control his own rising temper.

Beside him, Rinoa softly lay a hand on his shoulder to offer emotional support. Zell had pounded his fist into the gym floor twice, hard enough to cause a crack in it, while Kristine was holding her hands to her mouth in fear. Selphie and Irvine stood dumbfound and it was an extraordinary occurrence indeed when the green-eyed young woman could think of nothing to say. 

Before anyone could act further, Fujin crossed the decorated gym to stand before Seifer.

"Seifer," she spoke lowly, so only he could hear her words. "Everything depends on you, what are you doing?"

"What the hell you saying, you crazy witch? Get away from me!"

To emphasize his point, Seifer pushed Fujin away from him, only to have her plant herself squarely in front of him once again. "You're worried about football games and college scholarships," the young woman literally hissed at him, "when you should be worried about your eternal soul and everyone else's too."

Wide eyed with fear and feeling completely panicked, Seifer exclaimed, "I said to get away from me!"

And he pushed her once more, but this time substantially harder, due to his increased adrenaline, knocking Fujin roughly to the gym floor. She did not cry out in pain, but merely looked up at him and winked.

"Try to remember," she entreated him. "Concentrate, Seifer."

Squall had seen more than enough and ran at the tall blond man pushing him backwards. Seifer gave way easily, as he was just standing in shock at what he had just done.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized to Fujin.

"Too late for that, Seifer. You've got a beating coming and I'm going to do it," Squall shouted, while pushing Seifer back one more time.

Squall managed to obtain Seifer's attention this time and he snarled in return, "Right now, puberty boy, outside - I don't want your blood to ruin the gym floor."

A few minutes later they all stood outside of the school. Early arrivals at the football game were thronging the parking lot and had been drawn to the confrontation. The police officer looked on at the possible fight with disinterest from his position inside the school. His duty lay there and not outside, his only requirement was to call for backup, which he idly supposed he would do in a moment.

As Squall and Seifer squared off against each other, Rinoa glanced nervously around and noticed the sky had turned an ominous gray-black color and lightning was striking somewhere in the distance.

_Oh this is too weird, _ she thought and then things grew even stranger, when Rinoa happened to look down and saw a dog standing at her side.

_It's Angelo! _ "Where did you come from, girl?" Rinoa murmured, leaning down to pet her. "Where have you been, my guardian?" _ Oh sweet Hyne! It's Angelo! What in the world is going on here?! _

Lightning was striking more frequently and closer to them, as now thunder rumbled more and more ominously. Rinoa was struck still in amazement at the sight of the school buildings becoming insubstantial before disappearing altogether. Individual school mates were blinking out of existence right in front of her and suddenly she observed Ellone waving to her from a distance and calling out to her.

Rinoa looked at Quistis in abject panic, as the young strawberry-blonde woman had just noticed she had a whip hanging from her waist. _ Where did this come from? _ she thought confusedly for a second and then her mind was flooded with memories.

Quistis glanced at Fujin who was staring at her and smiling. "You knew all the time, didn't you?" Quistis shouted. Fujin only offered a wink as her answer.

Meanwhile Squall and Seifer continued to have at each other. What they both lacked in the sweet science of fisticuffs, they more than made up for with the power of their punches. They were standing toe to toe walloping each other with tremendous blows.

Both Squall and Seifer were so preoccupied with battering each other, neither of them appeared to notice when their right hands were suddenly filled with gunblades! The late afternoon was filled with the clashing sounds of the gunblades striking each other.

"Squall!" Rinoa screamed. "Stop it! Don't you see what's going on?"

Neither young man acted as though they had even heard her, much less comprehended her words, as they continued to bash each other. Seifer stepped back suddenly and let loose with a blast of _ Fira _ directly at Squall. It passed through him causing intense pain.

_What the hell is that? _ Squall wondered. _ Some kind of magic? _

Students began to scream in terror, as they observed others disappearing right before their eyes, along with all of the buildings now being gone. Rinoa and Quistis simultaneously rushed between Seifer and Squall, both risking being seriously injured.

"Seifer!" Quistis shouted in his face, now finally receiving his attention for the moment.

"Get out of the way!" Seifer snarled, momentarily appearing totally crazed to his new girlfriend.

"No!" she insisted. "We're in time compression! Look around you."

Both Seifer and Squall now confusedly followed the strawberry-blonde woman's simple directive and were struck with amazement at what had occurred around them in the last few minutes.

Squall suddenly understood it all and he grabbed Rinoa roughly by the hand. "Come on everybody!" he shouted out instructions. "Let's head back to the orphanage."

A split second later all that was left was the darkened skies and the cracked brown earth. Hurtling through absolute time and space, Rinoa was horrified to observe Squall wrested from her grasp by the extreme forces of gravity and quickly whisked away out of her sight.

"Oh no!" she screamed. _ Oh great Hyne, please get me back to the flower field, _ Rinoa silently prayed, as she too disappeared into time compression.

The End


End file.
